The University of Arizona will be the site of a project designed as a cladistic analysis to resolve the phylogenetic systematics of Magnoliidae. Approximately 60 OTUs (operational taxonomic units) will be coded, including monophyletic entities of variable taxonomic rank. Over 100 characters will be defined from as complete an array of systematic evidence as possible, and missing data will be supplemented by empirical collection of new data. New characters will also be developed. Character polarization by outgroup comparison with published cladograms of seed plant phylogeny will facilitate the recognition of ancestral conditions in primitive angiosperms. Existing and newly developed parsimony packages will be utilized to develop resolved cladograms depicting monophyletic clades and concordant character evolution. The resulting phylogenetic classification will have high predictive value for subsequent analyses and tests of hypotheses. The research is being supported by a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in environmental biology.
