Ontogeny, phylogeny and intraspecific variation in North American Abies Mill. (Pinaceae): an empirical approach to organization and evolution

• Published in: Taxon 1993-02, Vol.42 (1), p.17-34
• Main Authors: Robson, K.A, Maze, J, Scagel, R.K, Banerjee, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abies; Biological and medical sciences; Biological taxonomies; cladistic analysis; Cladistics; Eigenvectors; Ellipses; Evolution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; genetic variation; Ontogeny; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant cytology, morphology, systematics, chorology and evolution; Plant evolution; Principal components analysis; taxonomy; We they distinction
• ISSN: 0040-0262; 1996-8175
• DOI: 10.2307/1223299

In view of the relevance of hierarchical organization and historical constrain for evolutionary theory, and of the lack of a suitable methodology to study these phenomena, attempts to simultaneously examine the ontogeny and phylogeny of a monophyletic group are thought to be promising. As an example, a multi-level study of the genus Abies is presented. First, the phylogenetic relationships for a subset of North American species of Abies are tentatively clarified through a cladistic study using data from existing treatments and combined outgroups. Second, intraspecific variation is analysed for most of the same fir species from continuous variables describing vegetative structures (from both immature and mature trees) and features of the cones. The results are presented in graphical form, allowing patterns of variable inter-correlations and their changes through ontogenetic time to be compared with phylogenetic patterns. The potential of such quantitative studies for the description of biological organization and further understanding of evolutionary phenomena is discussed in the light of recent theories of evolution.