How The Present

System of
Classification of
Organisms is Based On
Evolutionary
Relationships
• INTRODUCTION
The diversity of living organisms on earth is truly astounding,
almost overwhelming. Humans have come up with ways of
organizing, or classifying, biological diversity throughout human
history. Organisms can be classified according to any number of
criteria, including overall similarities, colors, ecological
functions, etc. However, it is generally agreed that the most
useful way for scientists to organize biological diversity is to
group organisms according to shared evolutionary history. This
way the grouping not only results in an organized classification, it
also contains and conveys information about our understanding
of the evolutionary history of these groups.
Classification based on evolutionary relationships is called
phylogenetic systematics, or evolutionary classification.
 Evolutionary classification places organisms into higher taxa whose
members are more closely related to one another than they are to
members of any other group. The larger the taxon, the further back in time
all of its members shared a common ancestor.
 Most modern systems of classification are based on evolutionary
relationships among organisms – that is, on the organisms’ phylogeny.
Classification systems based on phylogeny organize species or other
groups in ways that reflect our understanding of how they evolved from
their common ancestors.
 In this article, we'll take a look at phylogenetic trees, diagrams that
represent evolutionary relationships among organisms. We'll see exactly
what we can (and can't!) infer from a phylogenetic tree, as well as what it
means for organisms to be more or less related in the context of these
trees.
 Classification shows how closely organisms are related with
respect to evolution..

There is a hierarchy of characteristics that helped taxonomists

to form classification groups. For example, the first level of
classification depends on whether the cell has a nucleus or not.
Except the members of the kingdom Monera (e.g., bacteria) all
other organisms have a true, or well-organized, nucleus.
 The next level of classification depends on whether the
nucleated organisms are unicellular or multicellular. The basis
for classifying the multicellular organisms is whether they are
capable of photosynthesis or not.

The basis for classifying no photosynthetic organisms is

the presence or absence of the vertebral column in the body.
In this way, organisms can be arranged in groups based on
their physiological, biochemical, anatomical or evolutionary
relationships.
Phylogenetic Trees
Scientists use a tool called a phylogenetic tree to show the
evolutionary pathways and connections among organisms.
A phylogenetic tree is a diagram used to reflect evolutionary
relationships among organisms or groups of organisms.
Scientists consider phylogenetic trees to be a hypothesis of the
evolutionary past since one cannot go back to confirm the
proposed relationships. In other words, a “tree of life” can be
constructed to illustrate when different organisms evolved and
to show the relationships among different organisms.
figures in the next slide
 The diagrams above can serve as a pathway to understanding evolutionary
history. The pathway can be traced from the origin of life to any individual
species by navigating through the evolutionary branches between the two
points. Also, by starting with a single species and tracing back towards the
"trunk" of the tree, one can discover that species' ancestors, as well as where
lineages share a common ancestry. In addition, the tree can be used to study
entire groups of organisms.

Another point to mention on phylogenetic tree structure is that rotation at

branch points does not change the information. For example, if a branch point
was rotated and the taxon order changed, this would not alter the information
because the evolution of each taxon from the branch point was independent of
the other.
Figure 2
 Another aspect of phylogenetic trees is that, unless otherwise indicated, the
branches do not account for length of time, only the evolutionary order. In other
words, the length of a branch does not typically mean more time passed, nor
does a short branch mean less time passed— unless specified on the diagram. For
example, in the figure 2, the tree does not indicate how much time passed
between the evolution of amniotic eggs and hair. What the tree does show is the
order in which things took place. Again using the figure 2, the tree shows that the
oldest trait is the vertebral column, followed by hinged jaws, and so forth.
Remember that any phylogenetic tree is a part of the greater whole, and like a
real tree, it does not grow in only one direction after a new branch develops. So,
for the organisms in the figure 2, just because a vertebral column evolved does
not mean that invertebrate evolution ceased, it only means that a new branch
formed. Also, groups that are not closely related, but evolve under similar
conditions, may appear more phenotypically similar to each other than to a close
relative.
Conclusion:
Many disciplines within the study of biology contribute to
understanding how past and present life evolved over time. These
disciplines together contribute to building, updating, and maintaining the
“tree of life.”  Information is used to organize and classify organisms
based on evolutionary relationships in a scientific field
called systematics. Data may be collected from fossils, from studying the
structure of body parts or molecules used by an organism, and by DNA
analysis. By combining data from many sources, scientists can put
together the phylogeny of an organism; since phylogenetic trees are
hypotheses, they will continue to change as new types of life are
discovered and new information is learned.
• REFLECTION
I discovered a lot on this subject. I used my time well searching and looking for
information about this topic. As a result, my knowledge and understanding has increased.
Even though our understanding of the evolutionary relationship between organisms has
improved significantly over the past years, it is by no means complete. The relationships
between organisms and groups of organisms continue to be revised as new data emerges.
One of the important aspects of this topic is that I learned that this subject is
related to evolutionary relationships. I learned that every organism descended from its
ancestral type with some changes. I also understand that to build phylogenetic trees,
scientists need to gather accurate information that will enable them to make evolutionary
relationships between organisms. It’s cool to know how scientists today build
phylogenetic trees to illustrate evolutionary relationships. The group work discussion on
this subject has contributed significantly to a better understanding of evolution.
Fortunately, this gives me other opportunities to learn new things and
knowledge. I look forward to learning more about such topics or the subject.
-Crystal Claire P. Porras
• REFLECTION
My reflection about our topic is that the evolutionary relationship are truly
overwhelming. In this topic will give us an idea about evolutionary of organisms. The
organisms have truly came up with ways of organizing or classifying biological diversity.
They are to members of any other group that Taxa whose members that closely related to
one other places of organisms into a higher evolutionary classification. The evolutionary
relationships have a two advantages. First, phylogenetic classification that will tell you
something important about the organisms and second, the phylogenetic Classification who
does not attempt to rank organisms. This phylogenetic can reconstruct the one objective to
evolutionary relationship between species. An other objective is to estimate the time of
divergence between two organisms since they last shared a common ancestor. Also,
remember that any phylogenetic has a greater whole, like a real tree. It does not grow in
only one direction after a new branch develops but it evolve under a similar conditions but
it close relatives to each other.
- Sarah Jean Occena
• REFLECTION
After we make our portfolio about how the present system of classification
of organisms is based on evolutionary relationships, I understand how
phylogenetic is important. Through phylogenetic, I learn not only how the
sequence came to be the way they are today but also enable to predict how it will
change in the future. Understanding phylogeny extends far beyond
understanding the evolutionary history of species on earth. The simple process of
sorting reveals patterns and relationships, and give clues to past events and
revelations that are absolutely fundamental to the study of evolution. The
advantage of phylogenetic classification shows the underlying biological
processes that are responsible for the diversity of organisms. The phylogeny
shows that the tree of life is the product of the historical process of evolution.
Through phylogenetic, scientists have been able to trace the genetic history of
different species.
- Jeah Lourraine Matapaja
GROUP F MEMBERS:
 Sarah Jean Occena
 Jeah Lourraine Matapaja
 Crystal Claire Porras
 REFERENCES
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• https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-evolution/hs-phyl
ogeny/a/phylogenetic-trees
• https://www.biologydiscussion.com/essay/evolution-and-classification-of-organis
m-on-earth/1659
• https://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]:EBI37OBB@2/Systematics-and-the-Tre
e-of-Life#fig-ch20_01_01