consistency index

views updated May 14 2018

consistency index In cladistic analysis, a measure of homoplasy in a phylogenetic tree (or cladogram), calculated as the number of steps (i.e. character state changes) in the cladogram divided by the smallest possible number of steps. The index therefore runs from 0 to 1. A low consistency index (less than 0.5) tends to indicate that much homoplasy has occurred.

consistency index

views updated May 08 2018

consistency index In cladistic analysis, a measure of homoplasy in a phylogenetic tree (or cladogram), calculated as the number of steps (i.e. character state changes) in the cladogram divided by the smallest possible number of steps. The index therefore runs from 0 to 1. A low consistency index (less than 0.5) tends to indicate that much homoplasy has occurred.

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consistency index

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