A simple method for estimating informative node age priors for the fossil calibration of molecular divergence time analyses.

ABSTRACT: Molecular divergence time analyses often rely on the age of fossil lineages to calibrate node age estimates. Most divergence time analyses are now performed in a Bayesian framework, where fossil calibrations are incorporated as parametric prior probabilities on node ages. It is widely accepted that an ideal parameterization of such node age prior probabilities should be based on a comprehensive analysis of the fossil record of the clade of interest, but there is currently no generally applicable approach for calculating such informative priors. We provide here a simple and easily implemented method that employs fossil data to estimate the likely amount of missing history prior to the oldest fossil occurrence of a clade, which can be used to fit an informative parametric prior probability d

SUBMITTER: Nowak MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3673923 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature