Abstracts of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society. "Phylogenetics and Evolutionary Biology"

The 23rd annual meeting of the Willi Hennig Society took place in Paris with the support of Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and CNRS (Centre National de la recherche Scientifique), from the 18th to the 23rd of July 2004. Ninety four participants from 16 countries presented 67 talks and 11 posters. The symposia comprised both methodological contributions and strong analyses of case studies, focusing on hot topics in systematics, methodological advances in phylogenetic analysis, epistemology, phylogenetic analysis of behavioral and ecological traits, phylogeny and coevolution of microbial symbioses, taxon and character sampling, biogeography, and the evolution of arthropods. The student participation was very high with 30 student talks (45%) distributed among all symposia, showing the same healthy trend seen in previous meetings. The present abstracts show how much systematics and phylogenetics are scientifically growing and contribute significantly to all research fields of evolutionary biology in the framework of comparative biology.
The Student Awards Committee (Cyrille D'Haese, Diana Lipscomb, John Wenzel) nominated the following winners: Johannes Bergsten, the Hennig Prize ($1000) for "Antagonistic coevolution between the sexes in diving-beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae); phylogeny and experiments in reciprocal illumination", Mahé Ben Hamed, the Brundin Prize ($500) for "Reconstructing the history of Chinese through lexicon. Cladistics, distances and trees" and Lara Lopardo, the Rosen Prize ($250) for the poster "Chilean Anapids and Their Webs, a Phylogenetic Approach (Araneae, Anapidae)".
© The Willi Hennig Society 2004.     

A summit of cladistics: abstracts of the 27th Annual Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society and VIII Reunión Argentina de Cladística y Biogeografía

The 27th meeting of the Willi Hennig Society was held at the Sierras de San Javier, Tucumán (27–31 October 2008), jointly with the VIII Reunión Argentina de Cladística y Biogeografía. This was the second Hennig meeting held in South America and the third in Latin America. The event was attended by 129 participants from 16 countries, with the strongest presence from Argentina, USA and Brazil. As pointed out in the minutes of previous meetings, student participation is a good measure of the health of a society, and by this measure, the Hennig society is doing very well. For this meeting, 64 of the participants (50%) were students, 40 of which had authored or co‐authored a talk or poster. The schedule was intense, with 98 presentations (67 talks and 31 posters). The sessions consisted of contributed papers, and five symposia on diverse topics: Large Scale Analyses of Large Chunks of Life, Molecular Systematics, Latin American Biogeography in the 21st Century, Methodology, and Botanical Phylogenetics (each of the symposia, except the “green” one, had two or three student speakers). As is usual at these meetings, the atmosphere was informal and relaxed, with much discussion and debate (although the biogeographic symposium took first place for the heat of its exchanges). The Student Award Committee (Lone Aagesen, Dan Janies and Gitte Petersen) selected Santiago Catalano for the Hennig Award (‘The optimization of landmark data: a three‐dimensional approach’), Prashant Sharma for the Brundin Award (‘Phylogenetic analysis of Sandokanidae (Arachnida, Opiliones, Laniatores): Evaluating the independence of associated gene regions’), and Sebastian Barrionuevo for the Rosen Award (‘Continuous characters in a phylogenetic analysis of the frog genus Telmatobius’). In addition to the logistics and funding provided by the Willi Hennig Society, the event was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Fundación Miguel Lillo, Instituto Superior de Entomología ‘Dr Abraham Willink’, and the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica.
© The Willi Hennig Society 2009.     

Sinai Tschulok (1875–1945)—a pioneer of Cladistics

Sinai Tschulok emigrated from the Ukraine to Switzerland, where he studied natural sciences, in particular biology. He founded and managed his own high school, which prepared students for entry to university-level education. This left him little time for research, which may explain why his work largely fell into oblivion. He did publish two influential books, however (Tschulok, S., 1910, Das System der Biologie in Forschung und Lehre, Gustav Fischer, Jena and Tschulok, S., 1922, Deszendenzlehre, Gustav Fischer, Jena), which were cited and commented upon favourably by both Walter Zimmermann and Willi Hennig. The most important point, in their opinion, was how Tschulok's explication of biological systematics had turned the "natural system" into a proof for the "Theory of Descent". The influence of Walter Zimmermann on Willi Hennig and the development of phylogenetic systematics is well known. Here some parts of Tschulok's writings are discussed that render him a pioneer in Cladistics.
© The Willi Hennig Society 2009.     

Stag Parties Linger: Continued Gender Bias in a Female-Rich Scientific Discipline

Discussions about the underrepresentation of women in science are challenged by uncertainty over the relative effects of the lack of assertiveness by women and the lack of recognition of them by male colleagues because the two are often indistinguishable. They can be distinguished at professional meetings, however, by comparing symposia, which are largely by invitation, and posters and other talks, which are largely participant-initiated. Analysis of 21 annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists reveals that within the subfield of primatology, women give more posters than talks, whereas men give more talks than posters. But most strikingly, among symposia the proportion of female participants differs dramatically by the gender of the organizer. Male-organized symposia have half the number of female first authors (29%) that symposia organized by women (64%) or by both men and women (58%) have, and half that of female participation in talks and posters (65%). We found a similar gender bias from men in symposia from the past 12 annual meetings of the American Society of Primatologists. The bias is surprising given that women are the numerical majority in primatology and have achieved substantial peer recognition in this discipline.     

From types to individuals: Hennig’s ontology and the development of phylogenetic systematics

Contemporary phylogenetic systematics was framed, in part, as a response to a resurgent idealistic morphology in the German‐speaking world in the first half of the 20th century. There were also conceptual and methodological challenges from Anglo‐American researchers who were sceptical about whether a phylogenetic approach to systematics could be made to work. This paper describes these challenges as a way of providing context for some ontological innovations made first by Walter Zimmermann and then by Willi Hennig. The principal argument of this paper is that what has become known as the individuality thesis played a much more important role in the conceptual foundations of Hennig’s version of phylogenetic systematics than has been widely appreciated. Understanding Hennig’s ontology illuminates his responses to objections to phylogenetic systematics from both sides of the Atlantic and sheds substantial light on the extinction part of the dichotomy rule. Although many have taken Hennig’s claim that parent species go extinct at speciation to be an arbitrary and biologically unrealistic rule, extinction of the parent follows directly from the way Hennig understands species and how they are individuated. © The Willi Hennig Society 2011.     

Willi Hennig’s dichotomization of nature

Two formal assumptions implied in Willi Hennig’s “phylogenetic systematics” were repeatedly criticized for not being biologically grounded. The first is that speciation is always dichotomous; the second is that the stem‐species always goes extinct when its lineage splits into two daughter species. This paper traces the theoretical roots of Hennig’s “principle of dichotomy”. While often considered merely a methodological principle, Hennig’s realist perspective required him to ground the “principle of dichotomy” ontologically in speciation. As a methodological principle, the adherence to a strictly dichotomously structured phylogenetic system allowed Hennig to be unequivocal in character analysis and precise in the rendition of phylogenetic relationships. The ontological grounding of the “principle of dichotomy” in speciation remains controversial, however. This has implications for the application of techniques of phylogeny reconstruction to populations of bisexually reproducing organisms (phylogeography). Beyond that, the “principle of dichotomy” has triggered an intensive debate with respect to phylogeny reconstruction at the prokaryote level. © The Willi Hennig Society 2010.     

The controversy continues

Function, Phylogeny and Fossils: Miocene Hominoid Evolution and Adaptations Begun, DG, Ward, CV, Rose, MD eds. (1997). New York: Plenum Press. xii + 424 pp. ISBN 0-306-45457-2. $120.00 (cloth). The Evolution of Western Eurasian Neogene Mammal Faunas Bernor, RL, Fahlbusch, V, Mittman, H (eds). (1996). New York: Columbia University Press. ix + 487 pp. ISBN 0-231-08246-0. $92.00 (cloth). © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The Problem of Instruction and Development in the Works of L. S. Vygotsky

I. in the last few years interest has grown both in this country and abroad in the problem of instruction and the mental development of children. A clear sign of this was the recent XVIII International Congress of Psychology which met in Moscow, where the problem was discussed not only in special symposia by specialists in child psychology (J. Piaget, B. Inhelder, J. Bruner, P. Ya. Gal'perin, N. A. Menchinskaya, G. S. Kostyuk, R. Ojemann, N. F. Talyzina, J. Linhart, H. Aebli, etc.), but it also arose — and this is particularly interesting — at symposia not directly concerned with these matters. Examples of this were the following papers: A. D. Slonim, "The Environment of Post-Natal Development and Innate Behavioral Programs in Mammals"; D. Krech, "Heredity, Environment, the Brain, and Intellectual Activity"; M. Rosenzweig, "Anatomical and Chemical Changes in the Brain During Primary Learning"; A. Jacobson, "The Transfer of Learning by Injections of RNA Extracted from the Brains of Trained Animals"; R. Held, "Plasticity in Sensorimotor Coordination"; L. Lipsitt, "Learning in Human Newborns"; and many others. of course, the research presented at the symposia could not arrive at a unity of opinion. Instead, the various positions were more clearly formulated.     

The new and improved PhyloCode, now with types, ranks, and even polyphyly: a conference report from the First International Phylogenetic Nomenclature Meeting

A report from the first International Phylogenetic Nomenclature Meeting is presented. The meeting revealed that the PhyloCode, once implemented, will itself not require adherence to the three major tenets of philosophy that proponents have claimed required its creation. These include the abandonment of (1) non‐monophyletic taxa, (2) ranks, and (3) types. © The Willi Hennig Society 2005.     

Phylogeny of the Thylacosterninae (Coleoptera, Elateridae)

The phylogeny of the Elateridae subfamily Thylacosterninae was studied using morphological characters and mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. Five monophyletic groups were recovered: the Asian Cussolenis , the American Pterotarsus , Balgus and Thylacosternus , and the African " Cussolenis ", which is described here as Lumumbaia new genus Muona & Vahtera (type-species Cussolenis attenuatus Fleutiaux, 1925). The following new combinations are made: Lumumbaia africanus (Fleutiaux, 1897) [ Soleniscus ], Lumumbaia praeustus (Fleutiaux, 1926) [ Cussolenis ], Lumumbaia nigripes (Fleutiaux, 1926) [ Cussolenis ], Lumumbaia robustus (Fleutiaux, 1925) [ Cussolenis ], Lumumbaia attenuatus (Fleutiaux, 1925) [ Cussolenis ] and Lumumbaia notabilis (Fleutiaux, 1926) [ Cussolenis ]. A key to the genera of the subfamily is provided. The data were efficient in recovering generic limits within the group. At species level the mitochondrial 16S rDNA data seemed to work unpredictably, either agreeing or not with traditional species-level limits based on male genitalia and body structure. The evolution of bioluminescence is optimized as a feature originating in the ancestors of clicking elateroids.  © The Willi Hennig Society 2009.     

Heterology: the shadows of a shade

The recent proposition to name some similarities not due to common ancestry as examples of heterology is discussed from a historical point of view. The use of an elaborate terminology for various kinds of similarities is examined and rejected in favor of dealing with homology and non‐homology. © The Willi Hennig Society 2006.     

TT2013 meeting report: the Transgenic Technology meeting visits Asia for the first time

The 11th Transgenic Technology meeting was held in Guangzhou, China on 25th–27th February 2013. Over 300 scientists and students from round the world gathered to hear the latest developments in the technologies underpinning the creation of transgenic and knockout animals and their application to biological sciences in areas such as the modeling human diseases and biotechnology. As well as informative presentations from leading researchers in the field, an excellent selection of short talks selected from abstracts and posters, attendees were also treated to an inspiring talk from Allan Bradley who was awarded the 9th International Society of Transgenic Technologies Prize for outstanding contributions to the field of transgenic technologies.     

A Tide in the Affairs of Women

Women, Wives, Mothers: Values and Options. Jessie Bernard . Chicago: Aldine, 1975. viii + 286 pp. $5.95 (paper).
The Women's Movement: Political, Socioeconomic, and Psychological Issues. Barbara Sinclair Deckard . New York: Harper and Row, 1975. xii + 450 pp. $6.95 (paper).
Sex and the Intelligent Woman. Manfred F. DeMartino . New York: Springer, 1974. xii + 308 pp. $8.95 (cloth).
Women and Men: An Anthropologist's View. Ernestine Friedl . New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975. xi + 148 pp. n.p. (paper).
Naked Nomads. George Gilder . New York: Quadrangle-New York Times, 1974. 180 pp. $7.95 (cloth).
Sex Roles in Law and Society: Cases and Materials. Leo Kanowitz . Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1974 (First published 1973, reprinted). xiv + 706 pp. $20.00 (cloth), $8.50 (paper).
Women and the Law: The Unfinished Revolution. Leo Kanowitz . Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1975 (First published 1969, reprinted). xviii + 312 pp. $3.95 (paper).
Female of the Species. Kay Martin and Barbara Voorhies . New York: Columbia University Press, 1975. xi + 432 pp. n.p. (paper).
The Role of Woman in the Middle Ages. Papers of the 6th Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, State University of New York at Binghamton, May 1972. Rosemarie Thee Morewedge , ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975. xv + 195 pp. $12.50 (cloth).
Men and Masculinity. Joseph H. Pleck and Jack Sawyer , eds. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1974. viii + 184 pp. $6.95 (cloth).
Women and Social Policy. Constantino Safilios-Rothschild . Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1974. ix + 197 pp. $6.95 (cloth), $3.50 (paper).
Women in Chinese Society. Margery Wolf and Roxane Witke , eds. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975. x + 315 pp. $12.50 (cloth).     

Highlights from the 2010 BAS/BSCR spring meeting: New Frontiers in Cardiovascular Research

The British Atherosclerosis Society (BAS)/British Society for Cardiovascular Research (BSCR) spring meeting was held in Manchester, UK, on 7–8 June 2010. Experts in the field of systems biology, proteomics, metabolomics and miRNAs presented how these techniques can be used to discover ‘New Frontiers in Cardiovascular Research’. The conference was attended by over 150 participants, mainly from the UK. A total of 2 days of presentations and a poster session with 55 posters provided the possibility to discuss the latest research results and showed the opportunities that new techniques can offer in cardiovascular research.     

Distinctions between optimal and expected support

Several commonly used support measures are discussed and described as either optimal or expected support. This distinction is based on whether the indices are based on a function of optimal and non‐optimal hypotheses, or on the statistical expectation of clades. © The Willi Hennig Society 2010.     

Program note: Cladescan, a program for automated phylogenetic sensitivity analysis

Examination of trees for the presence of particular nodes is a fundamental aspect of systematics, and is the basis of phylogenetic sensitivity analysis, but becomes unwieldy when performed manually for complex nodes or over large numbers of trees. The program Cladescan is presented here as a stand-alone application to facilitate the detection of nodes in such situations. Cladescan includes features useful for phylogenetic sensitivity analysis, such as automatic generation of "Navajo rug" sensitivity plots. In addition, researchers may find it useful for general comparisons among large data sets.
© The Willi Hennig Society 2009.     

Phylogenetic morphometrics (II): algorithms for landmark optimization

This paper describes algorithms for optimizing two‐ or three‐dimensional landmark data onto trees directly. The method is based on a first approximation using grids, and subsequent iterative refinement of the initial point estimates. Details of the implementation are discussed, as well as an empirical example. © The Willi Hennig Society 2010.