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Lecturer(s)
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Trávníček Bohumil, doc. RNDr. Ph.D.
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Veselý Milan, doc. RNDr. Ph.D.
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Janda Milan, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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Taxonomy and its importance; history of classification; phenon, taxon, and category; species concepts, polytypic species, and infraspecific categories; higher taxa and hierarchical classification; morphological and molecular characters; homology, homoplasy, character polarization, and outgroups; cladistics, monophyly, and evolutionary systematics; data matrices and sequence alignment; distance methods, parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference; branch support; molecular clocks, dating, and ancestral-state reconstruction; multilocus and phylogenomic data; DNA barcoding and algorithmic species delimitation; fundamentals of zoological and botanical nomenclature.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture, Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training)
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Learning outcomes
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To introduce students to the principles of biological classification, taxonomy, and phylogenetic systematics and to teach them to read, interpret, and construct basic phylogenetic hypotheses from morphological and molecular data.
The student distinguishes a taxonomic category from a taxon, explains the principal species concepts and the principles of hierarchical classification, and distinguishes homology from homoplasy and plesiomorphic from apomorphic character states. The student identifies monophyletic groups, interprets cladograms correctly, compares the main methods of phylogenetic reconstruction, and explains the significance of branch support, molecular dating, species delimitation, and nomenclatural rules.
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Prerequisites
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Basic knowledge of general biology, genetics, evolution, and organismal systematics within introductory Bachelor's-level courses.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Student performance
Knowledge of the principal taxonomic and phylogenetic concepts, the ability to interpret a phylogenetic tree and justify the basic steps of an analysis, and successful completion of a written or oral assessment and, where applicable, a simple practical task.
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Recommended literature
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Baum, D. A. & Smith, S. D. (2013). Tree Thinking: An Introduction to Phylogenetic Biology. Greenwood Village.
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Hall, B. G. (2017). Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy: A How-To Manual. New York.
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Lozano-Fernandez, J. A practical guide to design and assess a phylogenomic study. 2022.
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Wiley, E. O. & Lieberman, B. S. (2011). Phylogenetics: Theory and Practice of Phylogenetic Systematics, 2nd edition. Hoboken.
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