Article
Biodiversity Conservation
R. Alexander Pyron, Matt Pennell
Summary: Macroevolutionary research on extinction has primarily focused on large-scale processes, while recent conservation studies concentrate on population-level dynamics in the Anthropocene. Combining these perspectives can reveal hidden assumptions of value and highlight promising research agendas in conservation biology.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Giovanni Laudanno, Bart Haegeman, Daniel L. Rabosky, Rampal S. Etienne
Summary: This article introduces different models and inference methods for phylogenetic trees with varying diversification rates, proposing a new framework for calculating likelihood that has been shown to be more accurate through simulations. The corrected likelihood can also be applied to models with multiple rate shifts, resolving the recent debate on unobserved shifts in diversification rates.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Michael Foote
Summary: Through comparing detrended estimates of diversity and rates of origination, extinction, and net diversification, the study shows that at the global scale, there is a negative correlation between rates of diversification and origination and diversity. However, the correlation between extinction rates and diversity is weak. This diversity-dependent diversification is a pervasive factor in the macroevolution of marine animal life.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Zachary B. Hancock, Emma S. Lehmberg, Gideon S. Bradburd
Summary: The Modern Synthesis, or Neo-Darwinism, based on the combination of Darwin's natural selection theory and Mendel's genetics research, has been the foundation of evolutionary theory, but has faced criticism since its inception. Critics like Gould argued that natural selection and random mutations alone cannot explain macroevolution, calling for new processes. However, others defended Neo-Darwinism, stating that it is sufficient to explain macroevolutionary patterns and emphasizing the importance of microevolution in the study of macroevolution.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Pablo Duchen, Michael L. Alfaro, Jonathan Rolland, Nicolas Salamin, Daniele Silvestro
Summary: Current phylogenetic comparative methods often assume that phenotypes are inherited identically during speciation, neglecting the fact that species are made up of individuals with their own trait values. This study investigates the impact of asymmetrical trait inheritance on macroevolutionary analyses, highlighting the potential for small jumps in phenotypes to significantly affect model selection and parameter estimation. The findings emphasize the importance of considering intraspecific variability in modeling trait evolution and inheritance during speciation in comparative methods.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Luke J. Harmon, Matthew W. Pennell, L. Francisco Henao-Diaz, Jonathan Rolland, Breanna N. Sipley, Josef C. Uyeda
Summary: Evolutionary rates are central in connecting micro- and macroevolution, with all types of rates following a similar scaling pattern with time. The highest rates measured over short time intervals suggest a large potential for variation that is underutilized by macroevolution. The ubiquitous scaling pattern of evolutionary rates may lead to unexpected results when comparing rates across different timescales.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS, VOL 52, 2021
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Andrew J. Helmstetter, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Herve Sauquet, Sarah P. Otto, Marcos Mendez, Mario Vallejo-Marin, Juerg Schoenenberger, Concetta Burgarella, Bruce Anderson, Hugo de Boer, Sylvain Glemin, Jos Kafer
Summary: This study synthesized data from 152 studies on angiosperm clades using state-dependent speciation and extinction models, and found that intrinsic traits related to reproduction and morphology are often linked to species diversification. However, a set of universal drivers did not emerge as these traits had inconsistent effects across clades. Additionally, the study found that data set properties such as tree size, age, and sampling quality were correlated to SSE model results, and provided best practices for study design and reporting.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sara Gamboa, Fabien L. Condamine, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, Sara Varela, Jonathan S. Pelegrin, Iris Menendez, Fernando Blanco, Manuel Hernandez Fernandez
Summary: The resource-use hypothesis suggests that habitat fragmentation caused by climatic oscillations affects biome specialists. In this study, swallowtail butterflies were used to test this hypothesis.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Justin G. Cally, Devi Stuart-Fox, Luke Holman, James Dale, Iliana Medina
Summary: Sexual selection influences phylogenetic diversity by affecting speciation rates in passerine birds, with male-biased sexual selection and sexual size dimorphism predicting speciation rates. This relationship is independent of environmental factors, and there is no association between proxies of sexual selection and extinction rates.
Article
Microbiology
Michiel Vos, Daniel Padfield, Christopher Quince, Rutger Vos
Summary: Prokaryote diversity is crucial to the biosphere and human health, but has received less attention compared to animals and plants. This article discusses the possibility of adaptive radiation in bacteria and explores how horizontally acquired key innovations can initiate and drive diversification. It also examines the colonization and exploitation of novel adaptive zones, and the evolution of an open pangenome. Horizontal acquisition of key innovations could be an important driver of bacterial diversity and pangenome evolution.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
P. Catalina Chaparro-Pedraza, Gregory Roth, Ole Seehausen
Summary: Adaptive radiations involve rapid niche diversification in response to ecological opportunity. The emergence of intraclade consumers in these radiations can halt the diversification of other ecomorphs and result in lower species richness in highly productive environments.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Benoit Perez-Lamarque, Maarja Opik, Odile Maliet, Ana C. Afonso Silva, Marc-Andre Selosse, Florent Martos, Helene Morlon
Summary: Analysing the diversification dynamics of the subphylum Glomeromycotina, the microscopic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that have been symbiotically associated with land plants for millions of years, this study reveals that they have low speciation rates compared to other eukaryotes. After a peak of speciation between 200 and 100 million years ago, a decline in speciation rates is observed, possibly due to a shrinking mycorrhizal niche and limited ability to colonize new niches.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Valentin Rineau, Jan Smycka, David Storch
Summary: Biodiversity on Earth is influenced by abiotic perturbations and rapid diversifications, as well as biotic interactions. Analysis of the fossil record reveals that diversity has a universal impact on origination and extinction rates, although the precise mechanisms are complex. The global regulation of diversity through negative diversity dependence seems to be a common feature in the biosphere, with significant implications for understanding the current biodiversity crisis.
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrea S. Meseguer, Ruben Carrillo, Sean W. Graham, Isabel Sanmartin
Summary: The relatively low diversity of aquatic angiosperms compared to their terrestrial relatives is caused by lower speciation and higher extinction rates, as well as infrequent transitions from land to water. The stressful conditions and limited space in aquatic habitats are hypothesized to explain this pattern.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
B. Davis Barnes, Judith A. Sclafani, Andrew Zaffos
Summary: The term "dead clades walking" (DCWs) was coined to describe marine fossil orders that do not rediversify to previous levels after significant drops in genus richness during mass extinction events. Analysis of fossil occurrences of 134 skeletonized marine invertebrate orders suggests that many of these DCWs orders persist for a long duration (>30 Myr), impacting taxonomic diversity even beyond extinction events. The prevalence of DCW orders across mass and background extinction intervals in various phyla indicates that the DCW pattern is a major component of macroevolutionary turnover.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Ecology
M. J. Monroe, S. H. South, S. H. Alonzo
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Ecology
M. J. Monroe, T. Amundsen, A. C. Utne-Palm, K. B. Mobley
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Ecology
M. J. Monroe, F. Bokma
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2010)
Article
Ecology
M. J. Monroe
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2012)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Melanie J. Monroe, Folmer Bokma
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH
(2013)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Melanie J. Monroe, Folmer Bokma
Article
Biology
Melanie J. Monroe, Folmer Bokma
THEORY IN BIOSCIENCES
(2010)
Article
Ecology
Melanie J. Monroe, Suzanne H. Alonzo
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2014)
Article
Ecology
Kate Gibson, Johan Olofsson, Arne O. Mooers, Melanie J. Monroe
Summary: This study analyzed the impact of reindeer grazing on plant community diversity and phylogenetic structure in the Fennoscandian tundra. The results showed that communities with pulse grazing had higher phylogenetic dispersion compared to communities with light grazing. It is suggested to change reindeer management practices to increase grazing pulses for enhancing phylogenetic diversity of plant communities.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)