Biological Systematics: Principles and Applications PDF

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Cladistics 17, 401 –402 (2001) doi:10.1006/clad.2001.0177, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on BOOK REVIEW Biological Systematics: Principles and Applications. deserving book-length treatment (e.g., Wheeler and By R. T. Schuh. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY, 2000. Meier, 2000). In par...

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Cladistics 17, 401–402 (2001) doi:10.1006/clad.2001.0177, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on

BOOK REVIEW Biological Systematics: Principles and Applications. By R. T. Schuh. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY, 2000. 236 pp. $45.00.

deserving book-length treatment (e.g., Wheeler and Meier, 2000). In particular, I would have liked to have seen a critical summary of the differing views of Kevin Nixon and Quentin Wheeler (1990) vs Kevin de Queiroz and Michael Donoghue (1988) vs Paul Vrana and Ward Wheeler (1992). Having said this, I must admit that the debate on species is one of my favorite topics, and Schuh states on p. 4 “that the details of how species are recognized . . . are beyond the scope of this book.” Second, I thought that the discussion of three-taxon statements (sensu Nelson and Platnick, 1991) was also a bit incomplete. Just how (and more importantly why) the character recoding is done is not clear. For that Schuh refers the reader to Kitching et al. (1998). Third (and I may be nitpicking here) is the use of rarely used words [e.g., exegesis (p. 169), orogeny (p. 180), and prolix (p. 182)], which may be a bit much for undergraduate student readers of this text. Finally, BS: P&A would have been much more useful to teachers and students if it were accompanied by a workbook that explains how to capture, manage, manipulate, and interpret cladistic data using software packages such as NONA, PAUP, and WINCLADA. There are also a few typographical errors. For example, in Fig. 6.7 on page 126, the taxa concerned are referred to as A–D in the matrix and as 1–4 in the cladograms and the subject index indicates that the Vrana and Wheeler (1992) reference is on page 156 when it actually is on page 157. Despite these minor criticisms, I believe that BS: P& A is the best textbook currently available for courses focusing on the theory and practice of cladistics.

This lovely little (24 ⫻ 16 cm) book (BS: P&A) is a godsend to those of us who teach systematics. Like ancient Gaul, it is divided into three parts. Part 1 (Chapters 1–3) comprises an historical introduction to systematics as a science and its various “schools,” an outline to and investigation of the nomenclature of systematics, and a discussion of how systematics fits within the philosophy of science. The last of these chapters is so lucid that I have recommended it to my ecologist, ethologist, and physiologist colleagues who are relatively ignorant of the philosophical basis of phylogenetic systematics. Part 2 (Chapters 4–7) is the heart of the book, covering the key components and methods of cladistics: homology, rooting, character analysis, taxon selection, quantitative methods of analysis, and the evaluation of cladistic results. Schuh excels here in using excellent examples featuring plants and animals. Part 3 (Chapters 8–11) discusses the various applications of cladistic results: classifications, databases, historical biogeography, host–parasite coevolution, adaptational scenarios, and conservation biology. Points covered in each chapter are explained and referenced using appropriate illustrations, “sidebars” (insets that focus on particular topics, such as monophyly), and sections for both literature cited and suggested readings. For those unfamiliar with the terminology used in systematics in general and cladistics in particular, there is a thorough glossary covering topics from additive binary coding to weighting (of characters). I have four relatively minor criticisms of BS: P&A. First, I thought that the section on species concepts (pp. 19–20) was a bit “thin.” Indeed, this is a subject

0748-3007/01 $35.00 Copyright 䉷 2001 by The Willi Hennig Society All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

REFERENCES de Queiroz, K. and Donoghue, M. J. (1988). Phylogenetic systematics and the species problem. Cladistics 4, 317–338.

401

402 Kitching, I. J., Forey, P. L., Humphries, C. J., and Williams, D. M. (1998). “Cladistics: The Theory and Practice of Phylogenetic Systematics,” 2nd ed. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford. Nelson, G., and Platnick, N. I. (1991). Three-taxon statements: A more precise use of parsimony. Cladistics 7, 351–366. Nixon, K. C., and Wheeler, Q. D. (1990). An amplification of the phylogenetic species concept. Cladistics 6, 211–233. Vrana, P., and Wheeler, W. (1992). Individual organisms as terminal entities: Laying the species problem to rest. Cladistics 8, 67–72.

Copyright 䉷 2001 by The Willi Hennig Society All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

BOOK REVIEW Wheeler, Q. D., and Meier, R. (2000). “Species Concepts and Phylogenetic Theory: A Debate.” Columbia Univ. Press, New York.

Timothy M. Crowe Percy FitzPatrick Institute University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7701, South Africa...