Describe cluster analysis, Biology

Assignment Help:

Q. Describe Cluster analysis?

After making a similarity table, it is then rearranged so that OTU's whose members have the highest mutual similarity are brought together. This can be done by several methods and related taxas or groups are recognised. These clusters are called phenons and can be arranged hierarchically in a tree diagram or dendrogram.

1407_Describe Cluster analysis.png

The groups or clusters thus recognised may be treated as equivalent to the categories having ranks in classical taxonomy, such as the genus, family, order, etc. A problem faced by many taxonomists is whether there is any equivalence between the ranks in different taxonomic groups of organisms. Is a family of flowering plants, for example equivalent in any sense to one of algae, or other organisms? To overcome this problem, numerical taxonomists have advocated a new terminology. Here, the tern "phenon" is introduced and the particular phenons are designated by numerical prefixes (e.g. 80 similarity) showing the level of. resemblance by which they are defined. The delimitation of the phenons is done by drawing horizontal lines across the dendrogram at a chosen similarity value. Such a dendrogram will have reference to a given study only, and cannot be generalised. Thus, phenons will be arbitrary and relative to groups within the limits of only one analysis.


Related Discussions:- Describe cluster analysis

What are the cell kinds that form the phloem, What are the cell kinds that ...

What are the cell kinds that form the phloem? What are the major features of those cells? The major cells that form the phloem are the sieve elements and the companion cells an

What is suppuration, Suppuration High number of PMN cells have been det...

Suppuration High number of PMN cells have been detected around implants that are associated with severe signs of mucosal inflammation. Several studies have shown the presence o

What is glycogen metabolism, Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide whi...

Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide which serves as a part of energy storage in fungi and animals. In humans the glycogen is recognized and stored primarily in the cells of

Mechanics of locomotion, Mechanics of Locomotion Among annelids, poly...

Mechanics of Locomotion Among annelids, polychaetes, hence more primitive than the other two groups, show a more complex mode of locomotion. Necessarily, the locomotion in po

Female reproductive system from the external vulva, Q. What are the anatomi...

Q. What are the anatomical relationships between the organs of the female reproductive system from the external vulva to the ovaries? The external female genitalia are called t

Moss stage - xerarch, Moss Stage - Xerarch The accumulation of soil, p...

Moss Stage - Xerarch The accumulation of soil, particularly in the crevices and depressions of rock favours the growth of certain xerophytic mosses, e.g., species of Polytrich

What is katal, What is katal katal : the amount of  enzyme that  tran...

What is katal katal : the amount of  enzyme that  transforms  1 mol  of substrate into product in one second.

Importance of the emergence of seeds in the plant kingdom, Q. What is the e...

Q. What is the evolutionary importance of the emergence of seeds in the plant kingdom? The evolutionary significance of the seed is related to the plant capability of distant c

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd