TIME FOR EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGISTS TO TAKE MORE INTEREST IN PROTOZOAN PHYLOGENETICS?

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Abstract
Summary: Studies on the evolution and phylogeny of various groups of the Protozoa, a major taxon or portion of the eukaryotic kingdom Protista, have been proceeding apace, particularly in recent years, although they appear to have attracted little attention to date among students of evolutionary biology in general. In searching for the reasons for this apparent fact the “shortcomings” of the protozoa themselves, as objects of phylogenetic investigation, may be held responsible. Such difficulties are discussed under six broad headings: the very nature of the Protozoa (microscopic size, unicellularity, common absence of sexuality, ubiquity), the frequent lack of fossil material, the paucity of described species, the scarcity of morphological features, the even greater rareness of non‐morphological characteristics usable in comparative study, and the unevenness in both our specific and general knowledge of these microorganisms. At the same time, new approaches and recent research in progress mitigate the awesomeness of these challenges to a degree which should allow us to recognize that such work is not being carried out entirely in vain. Many examples, often from the ciliate literature, are cited in illustration of points made. If protozoologists interested in phylogenetic problems can more successfully avoid the pitfalls inherent in their research, apply approaches broader in nature yet technically as sophisticated as possible, take into account constructive criticism, whether from insiders or outsiders, and learn from the experiences of other evolutionary biologists, they and their works will then be predictably deserving of considerably wider respect and recognition than apparently they are presently accorded.