THE TEMPO AND MODE OF EVOLUTION: BODY SIZES OF ISLAND MAMMALS

摘要: The tempo and mode of body size evolution on islands are believed to be well known. It is thought that evolves relatively quickly toward the mammalian modal value, thus generating extreme cases island rule. Here, we tested both theories in a phylogenetically explicit context, by using two different species-level phylogenetic hypotheses limited sister clades dichotomizing into an exclusively insular mainland daughter nodes. Taken as whole, mammals were found show largely punctuational evolution. We that, accounting for this, regardless phylogeny used, no faster than continents. compared selection regimes set Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models examine effects insularity strongly supported clade-specific regimes. Under this regime, however, evolutionary model allowing species evolve differently from their relatives performs worse ignores factor. Thus, taxa do not experience statistically relatives.