[Campbell Biology P.621] Which principle is generally followed when constructing a phylogene... | Practice Question

Which principle is generally followed when constructing a phylogenetic tree to identify the most likely evolutionary relationships?

  • A: The principle that all evolutionary changes are equally probable.
  • B: The principle of maximum likelihood, favoring trees with the highest probability.
  • C: The principle of parsimony, which favors the tree that requires the fewest evolutionary changes.
  • D: The principle that branch points should be based on as many shared ancestral characters as possible.

Explanation

The principle of parsimony, or Occam's razor, suggests that the simplest explanation the tree requiring the fewest evolutionary changes is usually the best. This is a common method for constructing phylogenetic trees.