Indicator vector analysis of a nucleotide sequence alignment generates a compact heat map, called a Klee diagram, with potential insight into clustering patterns in evolution. However, so far this approach has examined only mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) DNA barcode sequences. To further explore, we developed TreeParser, a freely-available web-based program that sorts a sequence ali...

BACKGROUND Comparative DNA sequence analysis provides insight into evolution and helps construct a natural classification reflecting the Tree of Life. The growing numbers of organisms represented in DNA databases challenge tree-building techniques and the vertical hierarchical classification may obscure relationships among some groups. Approaches that can incorporate sequence data from large nu...

Foci of tick species occur at large spatial scales. They are intrinsically difficult to detect because the effect of geographical factors affecting conceptual influence of climate gradients. Here we use a large dataset of occurrences of ticks in the Afrotropical region to outline the main associations of those tick species with the climate space. Using a principal components reduction of monthl...

Numerical phenetic methods organize taxa (operational taxonomic units, or OTUs) into groups based on overall similarity. OTUs are grouped in such a way that there is a higher degree of similarity within groups than between groups. That is, two OTUs within a group share more character states than do two OTUs in different groups. The least inclusive (smallest) groups represent the highest level o...

A taxonomic revision and the first phylogenetic hypothesis of Neotropical genus Ameromyia Banks (Myrmeleontidae: Brachynemurini) is herein presented. The phylogeny based on 45 morphological characters recovered traditional as paraphyletic in respect to monotypic Venezueleon Stange, which here synonymized under . Three species are ( A. hirsuta Navás stevensi nigriventris (Walker), pentheri strig...