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Much ado about nothing: inapplicable data as insertion–deletion events.
- Source :
-
Cladistics . Oct2023, Vol. 39 Issue 5, p475-478. 4p. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- The treatment of inapplicable characters has proved especially vexing to systematists. Investigators have wrestled with alternative coding scenarios to capture both the presence and absence of a feature, and its variation when present, in a reasonable manner. Three basic issues have presented themselves: (i) impossible states at internal nodes; (ii) action at a distance among disparate parts of the tree; and (iii) "secondary" (i.e. aspect variation) characters overwhelming "primary" (i.e. character presence/absence) patterns in grouping taxa. Multiple methods have been proposed to deal with these issues in the context of standard character coding with varying levels of complexity. Here, I show that these issues can be dealt with in a direct fashion by treating presence/absence not as a character, but as insertion/deletion of a character with all its potential variation. This approach removes these three problems in simple, straightforward manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *TREES
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 07483007
- Volume :
- 39
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Cladistics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 171903302
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12553