Practical: Lemurs of Madagascar
(By Rutger Vos, Arne Mooers and a wee bit of background from Bas Reuvers)
This is the starting screen for the Lemur practical. This practical will be held from from 26/09 to 10/10.
Answers are due on 11/10.
The practical consists of three parts:
- Part 1. The assignments in this part can be made on any computer with internet connection. The questions in this part focus on the construction of phylogenies by hand. The answers to the questions should be filled out on an old-fashioned piece of paper and handed in to Arne Mooers - don't forget your name.
- Part 2. In this part you'll work with PAUP* and MacClade. It is essential that you know what these programs can do before the practical starts. As a preparation you should read their manuals. Answers to the questions in this part should be filled out in the text areas provided on the screen.
- Part 3. The last part of the practical is similar to the second part, but you'll work with molecular instead of morphological data. Answers to the questions in this part should be filled out in the text areas as before.
Parts 2 and 3 require special software, and so must be done on the iMACs in the computer lab.
A note on time management.
The fact that the practical takes three days and consists of three parts is coincidence. There's no way of knowing how long each part is going to take you. If you have no idea what PAUP* and MacClade are all about, Parts 2 and 3 will take quite a while. If you haven't studied any of the theory yet, Part 1 will take long. All in all the practical should take 12-15 hours to finish.