Authors: Peter L. Forey, Ian J. Kitching, Christopher J. Humphries
Systematics underpins all of biology. Cladistics is a method of systematic classification that has become
applied to
comparative studies in all fields of biology. In cladistics, the genealogies that are reconstructed are based on common ancestry rather than on overall similarity. True phylogenetic relationships are thus revealed. To meet the need for training, the Systematics Association has sponsored a
short course on cladistics. The interest sparked by this course was such that the course material has been gathered together in this book, now available in paperback. To introduce the subject, the principle of parsimony and methods for character coding and determining character polarity are…
