User:Pineflatwoods

I am an evolutionary biologist and collections-based researcher specializing in the genomics of insects.

On Wikipedia, I am primarily interested in improving the quality of scientists' biographies, and in fixing pervasive and pernicious references to extant organisms as "basal" to groups of other extant organisms.

References to extant taxa as “early diverging” or “basal” are fundamentally based on misconceptions about how phylogenetic relationships work[1][2][3][4][5]. All extant species have descended from the same common ancestor, have been evolving on Earth for the exact same amount of time, and are equidistant, in terms of time elapsed, from the last universal common ancestor. Typically, when someone calls an organism "basal" what they really mean is that it is sister to all other members of a group. My goal is to re-work such references on Wikipedia to improve accuracy and public understanding of evolutionary relationships.

  1. ^ James, Timothy Y.; Rokas, Antonis (2025-03-04). "Use their names: there are no basal, lower, or early diverging fungi". Mycologia. 117 (2): 246–254. doi:10.1080/00275514.2025.2460003. ISSN 0027-5514. PMC 11903137. PMID 40020155.
  2. ^ Crisp, M; Cook, L (2005-03). "Do early branching lineages signify ancestral traits?". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 20 (3): 122–128. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2004.11.010. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Krell, Frank‐T; Cranston, Peter S. (2004-07). "Which side of the tree is more basal?". Systematic Entomology. 29 (3): 279–281. doi:10.1111/j.0307-6970.2004.00262.x. ISSN 0307-6970. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ McDaniel, Stuart F. (2021-05). "Bryophytes are not early diverging land plants". New Phytologist. 230 (4): 1300–1304. doi:10.1111/nph.17241. ISSN 0028-646X. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Omland, Kevin E.; Cook, Lyn G.; Crisp, Michael D. (2008-09). "Tree thinking for all biology: the problem with reading phylogenies as ladders of progress". BioEssays. 30 (9): 854–867. doi:10.1002/bies.20794. ISSN 0265-9247. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.