Evolution W4 - Cladograms - 10/22/17

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Summary:  A cladogram is a diagram that shows us evolutionary relationships between organisms. It also tells us how organisms are closely related. At the top of the cladogram are the names of the organisms. Along the side of the cladogram, you have the different traits. When there is a point and the lines converge, it represent a common ancestor. We can trace the relationships on the cladogram to know which organisms evolved from a common ancestor, not how an organism "evolved" into another.

S&EP: Using Models

I used models, like cladograms, to find which organism was most closely related to the T-rex. First, we organized all of the information from the cladogram onto a table. For each feature of the organisms, we filled out a row of the table. We used a plus symbol to represent if the feature is found in the organism, a zero means that the feature is not present, a minus symbol means that the feature does not apply to the organism, and a question mark means that we can't tell if the feauture is there or not. If there was a red line striking through the organisms, we knew they shared that trait. For example, for the vertebrate feature, a red line was drawn across all of the organisms on the cladogram. This means that all of the organisms are vertebrates. So, we put a plus for all of the organisms for the vertebrate feature. Using the cladogram, we filled in our table for each of the features. In the end, we found out that the T-rex is most closely related to parrots because they share the most characteristics.

XCC-Patterns:
In every cladogram, you see a pattern. The organism with the most charcteristics is on the top and the least is on the bottom, the line of a cladogram represents time and the points in which two lines meet are where two organisms share a common ancestor. This pattern can be applied to almost everything. To begin studying cladograms we used this pattern when working with the traits of dinosaurs. Knowing that cladograms follow a pattern we can easily identify which animals, plants, or even balls are more closely related. This pattern can clearly apply to multiple living things and can definitely help see evolutionary relationships between things in the real world.

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