Which example illustrates how "maximum likelihood" is used by systematists?
A) Assigning humans and chimpanzees to a less inclusive taxon
B) Using the simplest explanation necessary to interpret the data
C) Establishing the membership in a clade using the phenetic approach
D) Distinguishing shared ancestral characteristics and shared derived characters
E) Using probability to determine that the nucleotide sequences in DNA and RNA change at a constant rate over time

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Maximum likelihood is a statistical approach used in phylogenetics to estimate the best tree (phylogeny) that represents the evolutionary relationships among genes or species. It uses probability to determine the tree that is most likely to have produced the observed sequence data, often considering the rate at which nucleotide sequences change over time.

Which Example Illustrates How "Maximum Likelihood" Is Used by Systematists