Question

to apply the principle of maximum parsimony to construction of a phylogenetic tree, . a. choose the tree in which the branch points are based on as many shared derived characters as possible b. choose the tree that assumes all evolutionary changes are equally probable c. choose the tree with the fewest branch points d. choose the tree that represents the fewest evolutionary changes, either in dna sequences or morphology

Answer 1

The aim of scientists applying the concept of maximum parsimony when creating phylogenetic trees is to choose the tree that represents the fewest evolutionary changes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The aim of scientists applying the concept of maximum parsimony when creating phylogenetic trees is to choose the tree that represents the fewest evolutionary changes, either in DNA sequences or morphology (option d). Maximum parsimony hypothesizes that events occurred in the simplest, most obvious way, and the pathway of evolution probably includes the fewest major events that coincide with the evidence at hand. It seeks to find the tree with the fewest number of character reversals, the fewest number of independent character changes, and the fewest number of character changes throughout the tree.