key concept 21.3 Phylogeny Makes Biology Comparative and Predictive

Once a phylogeny is reconstructed, what do we do with it? What beyond an understanding of evolutionary history does phylogeny offer us?

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  • Biologists use phylogenetic trees to investigate living organisms, explore instances of convergent evolution, and reconstruct ancestral states.

  • The timing of an evolutionary event can be estimated using the average rate of change for a given gene or protein and known calibration dates.