Incongruence in taxonomic data of the Cystisus-Genista complex
Incongruence in taxonomic data of the Cystisus-Genista complex
Ten different sources of taxonomic information were collected for species of the Cytisus-Genista complex (tribe Genisteae, family Leguminosae). These were morphology, pollen grain morphology, floral fragrance, ultraviolet patterns of flowers, electrophoretic mobilities of seed proteins, serological properties of seed proteins, seed alkaloids, free amino acids in the seeds, leaf flavonoids and chromosome numbers. The information collected from each source, with the exception of pollen grain morphology, was formulated into taxonomic characters. The nine character sets were used in investigations designed to test (1) the hypothesis of taxonomic congruence (2) the hypothesis of the revised factors asymptote, and (3) the hypothesis of functional complexes. This involved producing classifications from selected sets of characters and then comparing them. If a particular hypothesis were valid then the relevant character sets were expected to yield congruent classifications. All character sets were analysed numerically using the single linkage computer program LINKAGE. The resulting classifications were compared by calculating the product moment correlation coefficient between similarity matrices. The degree of congruence between two classifications was estimated directly from these values. The results obtained showed that no two classifications derived from different sets of characters were congruent. There was therefore no support for either the hypothesis of taxonomic congruence or the hypothesis of functional complexes. Some support was given to the revised hypothesis of the matches asymptote, but it was suggested that this hypothesis was of questionable relevance to taxonomic studies. It was concluded that incongruence does occur between character sets obtained from different types of taxonomic information and that one cannot therefore rely on a morphologically based classification to predict which species will be chemically, cytologically (etc.) most similar. The cause of incongruence and the possibility of coping with it within the framework of taxonomy is discussed.
University of Southampton
1980
Harris, Jacqueline Anne
(1980)
Incongruence in taxonomic data of the Cystisus-Genista complex.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Ten different sources of taxonomic information were collected for species of the Cytisus-Genista complex (tribe Genisteae, family Leguminosae). These were morphology, pollen grain morphology, floral fragrance, ultraviolet patterns of flowers, electrophoretic mobilities of seed proteins, serological properties of seed proteins, seed alkaloids, free amino acids in the seeds, leaf flavonoids and chromosome numbers. The information collected from each source, with the exception of pollen grain morphology, was formulated into taxonomic characters. The nine character sets were used in investigations designed to test (1) the hypothesis of taxonomic congruence (2) the hypothesis of the revised factors asymptote, and (3) the hypothesis of functional complexes. This involved producing classifications from selected sets of characters and then comparing them. If a particular hypothesis were valid then the relevant character sets were expected to yield congruent classifications. All character sets were analysed numerically using the single linkage computer program LINKAGE. The resulting classifications were compared by calculating the product moment correlation coefficient between similarity matrices. The degree of congruence between two classifications was estimated directly from these values. The results obtained showed that no two classifications derived from different sets of characters were congruent. There was therefore no support for either the hypothesis of taxonomic congruence or the hypothesis of functional complexes. Some support was given to the revised hypothesis of the matches asymptote, but it was suggested that this hypothesis was of questionable relevance to taxonomic studies. It was concluded that incongruence does occur between character sets obtained from different types of taxonomic information and that one cannot therefore rely on a morphologically based classification to predict which species will be chemically, cytologically (etc.) most similar. The cause of incongruence and the possibility of coping with it within the framework of taxonomy is discussed.
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Published date: 1980
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Local EPrints ID: 462608
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/462608
PURE UUID: 5c302505-c3b2-4292-85f1-421bcc6549fc
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 19:30
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 19:30
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Author:
Jacqueline Anne Harris
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