Communicating Phylogeny: Evolutionary Tree Diagrams in Museums
Issue Date
2012Author
MacDonald, Teresa
Wiley, Edward O.
Publisher
Springer
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Rights
Copyright 2012, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Tree of life diagrams are graphic representations of phylogeny—the evolutionary history and
relationships of lineages—and as such these graphics have the potential to convey key evolutionary
ideas and principles to a variety of audiences. Museums play a significant role in teaching about
evolution to the public, and tree graphics form a common element in many exhibits even though
little is known about their impact on visitor understanding. How phylogenies are depicted and used
in informal science settings impacts their accessibility and effectiveness in communicating about
evolution to visitors. In this paper, we summarize the analysis of 185 tree of life graphics collected
from museum exhibits at 52 institutions and highlight some potential implications of how trees are
presented that may support or hinder visitors’ understanding about evolution. While further work is
needed, existing learning research suggests that common elements among the diversity of museum
trees such as the inclusion of anagenesis and absence of time and shared characters might
represent potential barriers to visitor understanding.
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Citation
Teresa MacDonald & E. O. Wiley (2012) Communicating Phylogeny: Evolutionary Tree Diagrams in
Museums. Evolution Education Outreach (2012) 5:14–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12052-012-0387-0
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