States and traits

[Matt Buys]

Hi all.

I posed the question whether there's a difference between states and
traits in an attempt to speedily clarify what I heard at a cladistics
course in Cape Town earlier in the year. Since I have not read anything
that sounds similar in the thread, I have subsequently contacted the
speaker and obtained the reference.

Nixon, K. C. & Wheeler, Q. D. 1990. An amplification of the
phylogenetic species concept. Cladistcs 6: 211-223 state that all
inherited attributes of organisms are either traits or characters.
Attributes that are not universally distributed among comparable
individuals in a terminal lineage, clade or population are known as
traits and those that are found in all comparable individuals are known
as states.

Yours

M.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one

begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit
facts.
Sherlock Holmes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Matt H. Buys
A.P. Goossens Herbarium
Skool vir Omgewingswetenskappe en -ontwikkeling
Potchefstroomse Universiteit
Privaatsak X6001
Potchefstroom 2520
Suid-Afrika

Tel: 018 2992507
Faks: 018 2992503
http://www.puk.ac.za/botany/puc/herbarium.htm

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