WAGNER NETWORKS AND WAGNER TREES: A PRESENTATION OF METHODS FOR ESTIMATING MOST PARSIMONIOUS SOLUTIONS
Richard Jensen · Taxon · 1981
Summary The methods of Wagner network and Wagner tree construction are presented. A worked example, based on a set of hypothetical taxa, is examined in detail. Additional examples, representing real and artificial data sets, are also examined. The existence of alternative choices at several stages in the algorithms leads to solutions that may not be most parsimonious estimates. There apparently is no non‐arbitrary method for choosing between the alternatives. The examples presented illustrate that there may be multiple equally parsimonious solutions for a given data set and that neither algorithm can ensure a most parsimonious solution.