The creation of trees from molecular data has facilitated the study of many ques

Question

The creation of trees from molecular data has facilitated the study of many questions in evolutionary biology. Describe one example of how having a phylogenetic tree has added to our understanding of either speciation or adaptation (note: for either speciation or adaptation it is not sufficient to simply determine how species are related to each other). Be sure to compare how this question would be studied in the absence of a robust phylogeny with what is gained by having a phylogeny for the group.

Explanation / Answer

Phylogenetic tree, also known as a phylogeny, is a diagram which depicts the lines of evolutionary descent of different species, organisms, or genesfrom a common ancestor. Phylogenies are useful for organizing knowledge of biological diversity, for structuring classifications, and for providing insight into events which occurred during evolution.

The phylogenetic tree suggests that the chorus frogs share a common ancestor, and that their closest relatives are tree frogs such as the Pacific treefrog, the California treefrog and the spring peeper, which are more basal than the chorus frogs.

The chorus frogs (genus Pseudacris) is a small number of species of tree frogs which have adapted to living on or near the ground. They have reduced toe pads, which allow tree frogs to climb vertical surfaces. The molecular data therefore helps us understand that the chorus frogs evolved from a treefrog, not vice versa, and that the adaptation to living on the ground happened once, after which several species evolved from this ground dwelling ancestor.

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