Rates of ecological divergence and body size evolution are correlated with species diversification in scaly tree ferns.

ABSTRACT: Variation in species richness across regions and between different groups of organisms is a major feature of evolution. Several factors have been proposed to explain these differences, including heterogeneity in the rates of species diversification and the age of clades. It has been frequently assumed that rapid rates of diversification are coupled to high rates of ecological and morphological evolution, leading to a prediction that remains poorly explored for most species: the positive association between ecological niche divergence, morphological evolution and species diversification. We combined a time-calibrated phylogeny with distribution, ecological and body size data for scaly tree ferns (Cyatheaceae) to test whether rates of species diversification are predicted by the rates at whi

SUBMITTER: Ramirez-Barahona S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4947896 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature