*********************************************************************
************ Announcing RASA 1.1.1 and RASA Plot 1.1.1 **************
*********************************************************************
Nascent software for the Mac that will perform "Relative Apparent
Synapomorphy Analysis", a test for the presence of phylogenetic signal
in any type of discrete character data matrix (morphological or
molecular), is now available at the following URL as a binhexed
self-extracting archive:
http://loco.biology.unr.edu/archives/rasa/rasa.html
There you'll find rasa.sea, which contains the following:
RASA 1.1.1 <-- Reads a data file, measures signal,
and writes a file readable by:
RASA Plot 1.1.1 <-- Allows you to plot the results of the test.
RASA.help <-- A help file that you might find, well, helpful
sample1 <-- A sample data file with no signal.
sample2 <-- A sample data file with signal.
Although this software is in the beta stage, I consider the output to be
reliable. The reference for the algorithm and detailed justification
and discussion of limitations of the approach can be expected in July:
Lyons-Weiler, J., G.A. Hoelzer, and R.J. Tausch. 1996. Relative Apparent
Synapomorphy Analysis (RASA) I: the statistical measurement of
phylogenetic signal. Molecular Biology and Evolution, in press.
Access by anonymous ftp is currently under construction, and a more
sophisticated version in under development. Send questions off the list;
FAQs will be included as a file as they arrive.
_______________________________________________________________________________
\ / / \ / JAMES LYONS-WEILER ______________
\/ / \/ |..............|
\ / / |..............|
\/ / DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN |..............|
\ / ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND |...***........|
\ / CONSERVATION BIOLOGY |..*****.......|
\ / |.******.......|
\/ 1000 VALLEY ROAD/186 |********......|
______________ THE UNIVERSITY OF --------------
| will perform | NEVADA, RENO
| statistical | RENO, NEVADA 89512-0013
| phylogenetic |
| analyses for | "(Biology) is not religion; if it were, we'd
| food | have a much easier time raising money."
-------------- -Leon Lederman
_______________________________________________________________________________
