Single-locus species delimitation: a test of the mixed Yule-coalescent model, with an empirical application to Philippine round-leaf bats.

ABSTRACT: Prospects for a comprehensive inventory of global biodiversity would be greatly improved by automating methods of species delimitation. The general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) was recently proposed as a potential means of increasing the rate of biodiversity exploration. We tested this method with simulated data and applied it to a group of poorly known bats (Hipposideros) from the Philippines. We then used echolocation call characteristics to evaluate the plausibility of species boundaries suggested by GMYC. In our simulations, GMYC performed relatively well (errors in estimated species diversity less than 25%) when the product of the haploid effective population size (N(e)) and speciation rate (SR; per lineage per million years) was less than or equal to 10(5), while interspecific variat

SUBMITTER: Esselstyn JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3415896 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature