Answer questions in wkst
Phylogenetic Analysis Homework Name / pledge: Phylogenetic Analysis Homework Reconstructing the Evolutionary History of Darwin’s Finches Due 5:00 pm Wednesday, December 8 (10 points) Please be sure to complete the Phylogenetic Analysis Tutorial before beginning this assignment. 1. First locate Camarhynchus pauper, the medium tree finch, in both your neighbor-joining tree and in your matrix of pairwise distances and consider the following question. According to your neighbor-joining tree, is Camarhynchus pauper (A) more closely related to Camarhynchus parvulus than it is to Camarhynchus psittacula, (B) more closely related to Camarhynchus psittacula than it is to Camarhynchus parvulus, or (C) equally related to both Camarhynchus parvulus and Camarhynchus psittacula? Be sure to support your answer by citing specific values of genetic distance from your pairwise distance matrix! C. pauper, psittacula, and parvulus are species 7, 8, and 9, respectively, in the distance matrix. [Hint: remember that “more closely related to” means “shares a more recent common ancestor with” and “equally related to” means “shares the same most recent common ancestor.”](3 points). 2. Now locate Certhidea olivacea, the warbler finch, in both your neighbor-joining tree and in your matrix of pairwise distances and consider the following question. According to your neighbor-joining tree, is Certhidea (A) more closely related to Platyspiza crassirostris than it is to Geospiza magnirostris, (B) more closely related to Geospiza magnirostris than it is to Platyspiza crassirostris, or (C) equally related to both Platyspiza crassirostris and Geospiza magnirostris? Be sure to support your answer by citing specific values of genetic distance from your pairwise distance matrix! Certhidea olivacea, Platyspiza crassirostris, and Geospiza magnirostris are species 13, 12, and 2, respectively, in the distance matrix (3 points). 3. Based on their behavior and ecology, the two species of Cactospiza (Woodpecker Finch and Mangrove Finch) traditionally have been thought to be closely related to the Camarhynchus tree finches, and some biologists have even recommended abolishing the genus Cactospiza and placing the Woodpecker Finch and Mangrove Finch in the genus Camarhynchus. Based on your neighbor-joining tree, do the mtDNA data support a close relationship between Cactospiza and Camarhynchus? [Hint: determine what species are Cactospiza’s closest relatives by recency of a common ancestor.] Briefly explain why or why not (2 points). 4. The origins of Pinaroloxias (Cocos Finch) has puzzled biologists for years. Many have suggested that Pinaroloxias may be most closely related to Certhidea (Warbler Finch), which it resembles in body size and bill shape. Based on your neighbor-joining tree, do the mtDNA sequence data support a close relationship between Pinaroloxias and Certhidea? Briefly explain why or why not. [Hint: determine what species are Pinaroloxias’s closest relatives by recency of a common ancestor.](2 points). https://allegheny.instructure.com/courses/5387/pages/phylogenetic-analysis-tutorial?module_item_id=176436