2026/01/30 by Bjørn Tore Kopperud, Alessio Capobianco, John T. Clarke +2 · 2 voices · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
paper · doi:10.1093/evlett/qrag005
Strong disparity in species richness among organisms is well documented, but heterogeneity in the underlying diversification process is less understood. Using novel probabilistic methods, we investigate clade-specific diversification rate shifts in several species-rich phylogenies, together representing over 300,000 species across the Tree of Life. We find that diversification rate shifts are extremely prevalent across all clades, with more frequent changes in younger clades and an overall excess of upshifts, resulting in an apparent acceleration of net diversification rates. We also reveal that heterogeneity in diversification rates is related to the tempo of diversification itself. While we find support for more prevalent shifts in speciation rates than extinction rates and more upshifts than downshifts, this is partially due to data insufficiency and inference challenges. Our insights are fundamentally enabled by studying numerous large phylogenies with rigorous statistical methods, showing widespread prevalence of diversification rate shifts across the Tree of Life.