Addition of Darwin's Third Dimension to Phyletic Trees
A three-dimensional (3D) approach for visualizing the phyletic relationship
of living animals is proposed and developed as an alternative to current
two-dimensional (2D) evolutionary trees. The 3D tree enhances visualization
and qualitative analysis since it simultaneously provides topological (tree
structure) and spatial information (based upon genetically measured
distances). However, the meaning of the third dimension, particularly its
relationship to temporal processes, and further quantitative analyses emerge
as open questions. Our method consists of two phases. First, a 3D representation
of the generic relationships of a related group of extant animals
is produced using an optimization algorithm developed here. Second, linear
connections are added to suggest a visual representation of the differing
evolutionary trajectories of the organisms involved on the basis of a 2D
tree algorithm. The method is applied to a set of distantly related Caenophidian
snakes and the resulting relationships are analyzed. The discussions here
are meant to stimulate the generation of 3D trees in the goal of complementing
standard 2D views and, perhaps ultimately improving our classification
of evolutionary relationships.
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