Continuous characters in cladistic analysis

[Mike Dallwitz]

                                                                 31 August 1994



> I am interested in discrete coding of continuous characters and ratios for
> phylogenetic study. As I understand, very little is known about what is the
> best way to convert continuously variable characters into discrete ones.
>
> From: Liu Jie <jiel at BCC.ORST.EDU>

Real (continuous) and integer characters can be coded directly in DELTA format,
and converted to multistate characters at the time of conversion to Nexus,
Paup, or Hennig86 format. While this does not solve the problem of finding the
best division points (`key states') to use in the conversion, it does allow
flexibility and experimentation - for example, trying the effects of division
points evenly spaced on linear and logarithmic scales. It also makes the data
accessible to INTKEY, which can give valuable insights into the data for both
phenetic and cladistic analyses.

Mike Dallwitz                                  Internet md at ento.csiro.au
CSIRO Division of Entomology                   Fax +61 6 246 4000
GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia     Phone +61 6 246 4075