Question

what is numerical taxonomy ​

Answer 1

Answer:

It is a classification system in biological systematics which deals with the grouping of numerical methods of taxonomic units based on their character states.

Answer 2

Explanation:

cation of biological species is one of the important concern while studying taxonomic and or evolutionary relationships among various species. Classification is either based on only one / a few characters known as “Monothetic”, or based on multiple characters known as “Polythetic”.

It is obviously much more difficult to classify organisms on the basis of multiple characters rather than a few characters. The traditional approaches of taxonomists are tedious. The arrival of computer techniques in the field of biology has made the task easier for the taxonomists.

Numerical taxonomy is a system of grouping of species by numerical methods based on their character states. It was first initiated by Peter H.A.Sneath et al.

Before going further I would like to clear the difference between two common terms, namely, “Classification” & “Identification”. When the organisms are classified on the basis of like properties, then it is called Classification, and after the classification, when the additional unidentified objects are allocated, then it is known as Identification. The purpose of taxonomy is to group the objects to be classified into natural taxa. Conventional taxonomists equate the taxonomic relationships with evolutionary relationships, but the numerical taxonomists defined them as three kinds:

Phenetic: based on overall similarity.

Cladistic: based on a common line of descents.

Chronistic: temporal relation among various evolutionary branches.

How is the classification do by Numerical Taxonomy?

The objects to be classified are known as Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). They may be species, genera, family, higher ranking taxonomic groups,etc., The characters are numerically recorded either in the form of appropriate numbers or may be programmed in such a way that the differences among them are proportional to their dissimilarity.