The origins of species richness in the Hymenoptera: insights from a family-level supertree.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The order Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps, sawflies) contains about eight percent of all described species, but no analytical studies have addressed the origins of this richness at family-level or above. To investigate which major subtaxa experienced significant shifts in diversification, we assembled a family-level phylogeny of the Hymenoptera using supertree methods. We used sister-group species-richness comparisons to infer the phylogenetic position of shifts in diversification.

Results

The supertrees most supported by the underlying input trees are produced using matrix representation with compatibility (MRC) (from an all-in and a compartmentalised analysis). Whilst relationships at the tips of the tree tend to be well supported, those along the backbone of the

SUBMITTER: Davis RB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2873417 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature