Character and OTU stability in five taxonomic groups

The character and OTU stability of classifications based on UPGMA clustering and maximum parsimony (MP) trees were compared for 5 datasets (families of angiosperms, families of orthopteroid insects, species of the fish genusIctalurus, genera of the salamander family Salamandridae, and genera of the frog family Myobatrachidae). Stability was investigated by taking different sized random subsamples of OTUs or characters, computing UPGMA clusters and an MP tree, and then comparing the resulting trees with those based on the entire dataset. Agreement was measured by two consensus indices, that of Colless, computed from strict consensus trees, and Stinebrickner's 0.5-consensus index. Tests of character stability generally showed a monotone decrease in agreement with the standard as smaller sets of characters are considered. The relative success of the two methods depended upon the dataset. Tests of OTU stability showed a monotone decrease in agreement for UPGMA as smaller sets of OTUs are considered. But for MP, agreement decreased and then increased again on the same scale. The apparent superiority of UPGMA relative to MP with respect to OTU stability depended upon the dataset. Considerations other than stability, such as computer efficiency or accuracy, will also determine the method of choice for classifications.