Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2025

A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
Published on: February 5, 2014
Shape parameters of evolutionary trees in theoretical computer science
1Department of Mathematical Sciences, National Chengchi University, Taipei 116, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Abstract:
Shape parameters, e.g. balance indices, of evolutionary trees have been extensively studied under the Yule model in phylogenetics. Independently, many of the same parameters have also been studied for random binary search trees in computer science, where they measure the running time of algorithms. In fact, under the Yule and binary search tree models, these parameters have the same distribution, resulting in many identical discoveries. In this survey, we explain these connections and introduce some of the tools that have been used in computer science to derive stochastic results for shape parameters.This article is part of the theme issue '"A mathematical theory of evolution": phylogenetic models dating back 100 years'.
Related Concept Videos
Phylogenetic Trees
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Phylogeny
Survival Tree
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Synteny and Evolution
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...

