What is a Parsimony Method in Biology

Principle of parsimony The principle that the most acceptable explanation of an occurrence, phenomenon, or event is the simplest, involving the fewest entities, assumptions, or changes. In phylogenetics, for example, the preferred tree showing evolutionary relationships between species, molecules, or other entities is the one that requires the least amount of evolutionary change, that is, maximum parsimony. Problem: Applying the principle of parsimony to the trait “ability to fly,“ which of the two phylogenetic trees above is better? A) Tree 2 B) Tree 1 C) Since the trees show different evolutionary relationships, you cannot determine which is more parsimonious. D) Both trees are equally parsimonious. #PrincipleOfParsimony #phylogenicTree #outgroups #ingroup #Homology #Homoplasy #cladogram #Phylogram #domain #kingdom #phylum #Class #genus #ScientificNames #taxonomicHierarchy #species #phyliogeneticTree #Evolution #speciation #diagram #branchingInAPhylogeneticTree #Genetics #bilology #taxonomy #populationGenetics #hawaiiIslands #founderEffect #geneticDrift #geneticVariation #taxa #clade #Paraphyletic #Monophyletic #Polyphyletic #taxonomicRank