Hacking the JPEG/PDF tree format

Abstract

We have been illustrating the relationships between species and genes as trees for over a century. Whilst in the early years of morphological and molecular phylogenetics, embedding illustrations into manuscripts might have been the most appropriate way to disseminate knowledge, this has resulted in the locking up of phylogenetic hypotheses into the pages of journals and books without an easy way to access this information. As a result, most phylogenetic knowledge is lost upon publication. I will explain the reasons for re-using published trees, discuss ways to liberate this information and avoid these problems in the future.