Assessing the role of cladogenesis in macroevolution by integrating fossil and molecular evidence.

ABSTRACT: Assessing the extent to which population subdivision during cladogenesis is necessary for long-term phenotypic evolution is of fundamental importance in a broad range of biological disciplines. Differentiating cladogenesis from anagenesis, defined as evolution within a species, has generally been hampered by dating precision, insufficient fossil data, and difficulties in establishing a direct link between morphological changes detectable in the fossil record and biological species. Here we quantify the relative frequencies of cladogenesis and anagenesis for macroperforate planktic Foraminifera, which arguably have the most complete fossil record currently available, to address this question. Analyzing this record in light of molecular evidence, while taking into account the precision of fo

SUBMITTER: Strotz LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3581934 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature