tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3643556495084083743.post38410774244691725..comments2022-12-09T08:52:54.666-08:00Comments on Skeptic Wonder: Assorted musings on barcodingPsi Wavefunctionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10829712736757471647noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3643556495084083743.post-16888174473180177312009-10-29T21:22:13.744-07:002009-10-29T21:22:13.744-07:00Again, it depends on what you're looking at th...Again, it depends on what you're looking at the taxonomy <i>for</i>. If your interest is purely ecological, for instance, then phylogeny may be fairly unimportant.Christopher Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3643556495084083743.post-57746417900105611362009-10-29T03:40:15.364-07:002009-10-29T03:40:15.364-07:00I do have the tendency to confuse the two, probabl...I do have the tendency to confuse the two, probably because I generally consider phylogeny to be the important part (of course naming is useful for, you know, referring to stuff, but the whole ranking thing...eh, I don't know. I think people worry about it too much...) as you often want to know where an organism fits in the tree of life. Actually, I thought that's what taxonomy should be doing anyway? Is the distinction between taxonomy and phylogeny really that great? I've been quite confused on the matter, would be great to have that cleared up! <br /><br />So what are some of your reasons for the 'barcoding rabies'?Psi Wavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10829712736757471647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3643556495084083743.post-2495869082598619722009-10-29T03:14:03.710-07:002009-10-29T03:14:03.710-07:00Only one thought - I'm afraid you're confu...Only one thought - I'm afraid you're confusing taxonomy and phylogeny a bit. For the purpose of barcoding, it doesn't matter if a gene places Microsporidia in the wrong part of the tree, so long as that gene can still distinguish Microsporidia from everything else (and I say that as someone with barcoding rabies - every time someone is foolish enough to suggest it might be a good idea, I start snarling and foaming at the mouth). The same point applies to your comments on the usefulness of morphology - it all depends on what exactly you want to use that morphology for.Christopher Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.com