Measuring Stratigraphic Congruence Across Trees, Higher Taxa, and Time.

ABSTRACT: The congruence between the order of cladistic branching and the first appearance dates of fossil lineages can be quantified using a variety of indices. Good matching is a prerequisite for the accurate time calibration of trees, while the distribution of congruence indices across large samples of cladograms has underpinned claims about temporal and taxonomic patterns of completeness in the fossil record. The most widely used stratigraphic congruence indices are the stratigraphic consistency index (SCI), the modified Manhattan stratigraphic measure (MSM*), and the gap excess ratio (GER) (plus its derivatives; the topological GER and the modified GER). Many factors are believed to variously bias these indices, with several empirical and simulation studies addressing some subset of the putativ

SUBMITTER: O'Connor A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4997008 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature