The shape of mammalian phylogeny: patterns, processes and scales

TY - JOUR

T1 - The shape of mammalian phylogeny

T2 - patterns, processes and scales

AU - Purvis, Andy

AU - Fritz, Susanne A

AU - Rodríguez, Jesús

AU - Harvey, Paul H

AU - Grenyer, Richard

PY - 2011/9/12

Y1 - 2011/9/12

N2 - Mammalian phylogeny is far too asymmetric for all contemporaneous lineages to have had equal chances of diversifying. We consider this asymmetry or imbalance from four perspectives. First, we infer a minimal set of 'regime changes'-points at which net diversification rate has changed-identifying 15 significant radiations and 12 clades that may be 'downshifts'. We next show that mammalian phylogeny is similar in shape to a large set of published phylogenies of other vertebrate, arthropod and plant groups, suggesting that many clades may diversify under a largely shared set of 'rules'. Third, we simulate six simple macroevolutionary models, showing that those where speciation slows down as geographical or niche space is filled, produce more realistic phylogenies than do models involving key innovations. Lastly, an analysis of the spatial scaling of imbalance shows that the phylogeny of species within an assemblage, ecoregion or larger area always tends to be more unbalanced than expected from the phylogeny of species at the next more inclusive spatial scale. We conclude with a verbal model of mammalian macroevolution, which emphasizes the importance to diversification of accessing new regions of geographical or niche space.

AB - Mammalian phylogeny is far too asymmetric for all contemporaneous lineages to have had equal chances of diversifying. We consider this asymmetry or imbalance from four perspectives. First, we infer a minimal set of 'regime changes'-points at which net diversification rate has changed-identifying 15 significant radiations and 12 clades that may be 'downshifts'. We next show that mammalian phylogeny is similar in shape to a large set of published phylogenies of other vertebrate, arthropod and plant groups, suggesting that many clades may diversify under a largely shared set of 'rules'. Third, we simulate six simple macroevolutionary models, showing that those where speciation slows down as geographical or niche space is filled, produce more realistic phylogenies than do models involving key innovations. Lastly, an analysis of the spatial scaling of imbalance shows that the phylogeny of species within an assemblage, ecoregion or larger area always tends to be more unbalanced than expected from the phylogeny of species at the next more inclusive spatial scale. We conclude with a verbal model of mammalian macroevolution, which emphasizes the importance to diversification of accessing new regions of geographical or niche space.

KW - Animals

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Computer Simulation

KW - Mammals

KW - Models, Biological

KW - Phylogeny

KW - Stochastic Processes

U2 - 10.1098/rstb.2011.0025

DO - 10.1098/rstb.2011.0025

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 21807729

SN - 0962-8436

VL - 366

SP - 2462

EP - 2477

JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

IS - 1577

ER -