Probabilistic methods surpass parsimony when assessing clade support in phylogenetic analyses of discrete morphological data.

ABSTRACT: Fossil taxa are critical to inferences of historical diversity and the origins of modern biodiversity, but realizing their evolutionary significance is contingent on restoring fossil species to their correct position within the tree of life. For most fossil species, morphology is the only source of data for phylogenetic inference; this has traditionally been analysed using parsimony, the predominance of which is currently challenged by the development of probabilistic models that achieve greater phylogenetic accuracy. Here, based on simulated and empirical datasets, we explore the relative efficacy of competing phylogenetic methods in terms of clade support. We characterize clade support using bootstrapping for parsimony and Maximum Likelihood, and intrinsic Bayesian posterior probabilitie

SUBMITTER: O'Reilly JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5784394 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature