Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Phylogenetic comparative methods and the geography of speciation
Section snippets
Methods and assumptions
Most interspecific phylogenetic approaches to the geography of speciation work by examining the distribution of sister taxa: for example, if they are sympatric, then speciation is inferred to have been sympatric and if they are allopatric, speciation is inferred to have been allopatric (Fig. 1). For extant taxa, this approach leads to the comparison of sister species; for deeper nodes in a phylogeny, the procedure becomes more complicated because the geographical distribution of ancestral taxa
Shifts in range overlap through time
Several studies have used phylogenies to test geographical modes of speciation by examining changes in geographical range size and overlap of sister taxa through time 8, 9, 10, 21, 24 (Fig. 4). If, for example, allopatric speciation is predominant, then recently diverged sister taxa will tend to be geographically nonoverlapping, and the degree of overlap is likely to increase between deeper phylogenetic clades as a result of geographical range shifts. Conversely, if sympatric speciation is the
The future of phylogenetics in the study of the geography of speciation
Because speciation occurs at the population/species interface, methods are needed that focus at that level 25, 72. One recent approach has been to use phylogenetic approaches to focus solely on recent divergence events, either between populations within a species or within closely related species (reviewed in [73]). These approaches propose that the phylogenetic structure of genetic variation among populations and very recently diverged species will differ depending on geographical mode of
Conclusions
The past 15 years have seen a remarkable revolution in comparative biology: phylogenetic historical perspectives have gone from being completely ignored to being ubiquitous. As with many conceptual breakthroughs, however, the pendulum has swung too far the other way and re-examination of the utility of these methods has begun (e.g. 74, 75, 76). Phylogenetic approaches, similar to any other analytical method, have their own particular assumptions. When those assumptions are met, phylogenetic
Acknowledgements
We thank M. Francis Benard, L. Harmon, J. Kolbe, J. Wakeley, D. Ziolkowski and three anonymous reviewers for comments. Peter Jackson shared his expertise on the geographical range of wild felids. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (DEB 9982736).
Glossary
Glossary
- Allopatric speciation:
- speciation resulting from divergent evolution of populations that are geographically isolated from each other.
- Parapatric speciation:
- speciation resulting from divergent evolution of populations that are geographically adjacent to each other.
- Peripatric speciation:
- a subset of allopatric speciation in which a peripherally isolated population diverges to become a new species.
- Peripheral isolates:
- a geographically isolated population on the periphery of a species' range.
- Speciation:
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