Cladistics

David M. Williams is a researcher at the Natural History Museum, London, specializing in diatom (Bacillariophyta) taxonomy and biogeography. He is the current president of the Systematics Association, London. He has written over 240 scientific papers and ten books. Malte C. Ebach is Senior Lecturer in Biogeography at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He has published extensively on the history, theory and methodology of biological systematics, taxonomy and biogeography. He is Associate Editor for the Journal of Biogeography, Australian Systematic Botany and Editor of the CRC Biogeography Book Series.

• Part I. The Interrelationships of Organisms: 1. What this book is about; 2. Classification; Part II. Systematics: Exposing Myths: 3. Relationship diagrams; 4. Essentialism and typology; 5. Monothetic and polythetic taxa; 6. Non-taxa or the absence of –phyly: paraphyly and aphyly; Part III. The Cladistic Programme: 7. Parameters of classification: ordo ab chao; Part IV. How to Study Classification: 8. Modern artificial methods and raw data; 9. How to study classification: consensus techniques and general classifications; 10. How to study classification – 'total evidence' vs 'consensus', character congruence vs taxonomic congruence, simultaneous analysis vs partitioned data; 11. How to study classification: natural methods I – consensus revisited; 12. How to study classification: natural methods II – beyond method, the philosophy of three-item analysis; Part V. Beyond Classification: 13. Beyond classification: how to study phylogeny; 14. The separation of classification and phylogenetics; 15. Further myths and misunderstandings.

'The authors … are well situated to consider and elaborate on cladistic philosophy and applications in biological and evolutionary studies. This volume … will provide a solid background in the general study of classification, the major considerations for determining taxon relationships, a bit of history, and solid discussion on the use and theory of cladistics with various examples and citations for reference.' S. T. Meiers, Choice