Table of Contents

Section I: HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND FOR SYSTEMATICS
1. Introduction to Systematics: First Principles and Practical Tools
2. Systematics and the Philosophy of Science
Section II: CLADISTIC METHODS
3. Characters and Character States
4. Character Polarity and Inferring Homology
5. Tree-Building Algorithms and Philosophies
6. Evaluating Results
Section III: APPLICATION OF CLADISTIC RESULTS
7. Species: Concepts, Recognition, and Analytical Problems
8. Nomenclature, Classifications, and SystematicDatabases
9. The Integration of Phylogenetics, Historical Biogeography, and Host-Parasite Coevolution
10. Evaluating Hypothetical Scenarios of Evolution,Ecology and Adaptation
11. Understanding Molecular Clocks and Time Trees
12. Biodiversity and Conservation
Postscript: Parsimony and the Future of Systematics

About the Author

Andrew V. Z. Brower is an Assistant Director of the National Identification Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service with the United States Department of Agriculture. He is also a Research Associate with the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.
Randall T. Schuh is George T. Willett Curator Emeritus of Entomology and Professor Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. He is also affiliated, in emeritus status, with Cornell University and City University of New York.

Reviews

This lovely book is a godsend to those of us who teach systematics. I believe that Biological Systematics is the best textbook currently available for courses focusing on the theory and practice of cladistics.
*Cladistics*

This is an excellent book. Written by a practicing systematist with a keen interest in the theoretical development of systematics, it has a blend of theory and empiricism that results in a very authoritative treatment. In total, I thoroughly recommend this book. It demands to be read as much for its readability as its content.
*Paleontological Association Newsletter*