Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
McDonald, Patrick
Keywords
Invariant, Statistic, Phylogenetics
Area of Concentration
Mathematics
Abstract
A central problem of evolutionary biology involves constructing the evolutionary pathway of observed species. Phylogenetic trees are natural structures used to model such pathways. We develop a method for comparing phylogenetic trees with a notion towards constructing a best fit tree for a given data set. Our method involves defining a local geometry on the space of trees. This geometry involves a comparison of local algebraic invariants. We use this geometry to construct an algorithm for producing best fit phylogenetic trees. Numerical experiments suggest this as an interesting avenue of research.
Recommended Citation
Haywood, Ian, "Local Algebraic Invariant Statistics for a Heuristic to Compare Phylogenetic Trees" (2010). Theses & ETDs. 4277.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4277