ArticlePLoS biology2021
Tempo and mode of morphological evolution are decoupled from latitude in birds.
Article in PLoS biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Geology, climate, and competition as drivers of diversification in the neotropical palm genus Geonoma.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- High-latitude ocean habitats are a crucible of fish body shape diversification.Evolution letters · 2024Article
- Conceptual and empirical bridges between micro- and macroevolution.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Review
- Modeling the Evolution of Rates of Continuous Trait Evolution.Systematic biology · 2023Article
- Macroevolutionary thermodynamics: Temperature and the tempo of evolution in the tropics.PLoS biology · 2021Article
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6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The latitudinal diversity gradient is one of the most striking patterns in nature, yet its implications for morphological evolution are poorly understood. In particular, it has been proposed that an increased intensity of species interactions in tropical biota may either promote or constrain trait evolution, but which of these outcomes predominates remains uncertain. Here, we develop tools for fitting phylogenetic models of phenotypic evolution in which the impact of species interactions-namely, competition-can vary across lineages. Deploying these models on a global avian trait dataset to explore differences in trait divergence between tropical and temperate lineages, we find that the effect of latitude on the mode and tempo of morphological evolution is weak and clade- or trait dependent. Our results indicate that species interactions do not disproportionately impact morphological evolution in tropical bird families and question the validity of previously reported patterns of slower trait evolution in the tropics.
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