On density-dependent diversification and speciation in birds

Posted by Erik Svensson


This coming Wednesday (March 21 at 13.30 NOTE TIME!!!!), we will discuss a paper about the (possible) density-dependent slowdown of cladogenesis in birds with the progress of adaptive radiation. It is a paper that was published relatively recently, although it is not entirely new, in PLoS Biology by Albert Phillimore and Trevor D. Price. The title of the paper is:
"Density-Dependent Cladogenesis in Birds"
The authors have used molecular phylogenies from various avian groups to test the hypothesis that diversification rates decline with the progress of adaptive radiation, and as we are approaching the present. Here is the Abstract to the article, which can be downloaded here (PLoS Biology is a "Open Acess"-publisher, which makes everything easier):

Abstract 

A characteristic signature of adaptive radiation is a slowing of the rate of speciation toward the present. On the basis of molecular phylogenies, studies of single clades have frequently found evidence for a slowdown in diversification rate and have interpreted this as evidence for density dependent speciation. However, we demonstrated via simulation that large clades are expected to show stronger slowdowns than small clades, even if the probability of speciation and extinction remains constant through time. This is a consequence of exponential growth: clades, which, by chance, diversify at above the average rate early in their history, will tend to be large. They will also tend to regress back to the average diversification rate later on, and therefore show a slowdown. We conducted a meta-analysis of the distribution of speciation events through time, focusing on sequence-based phylogenies for 45 clades of birds. Thirteen of the 23 clades (57%) that include more than 20 species show significant slowdowns. The high frequency of slowdowns observed in large clades is even more extreme than expected under a purely stochastic constant-rate model, but is consistent with the adaptive radiation model. Taken together, our data strongly support a model of density-dependent speciation in birds, whereby speciation slows as ecological opportunities and geographical space place limits on clade growth.

We meet at 13.30 (not 13.00!) to discuss this interesting article.