ArticleEcology and evolution2022
How to approach the study of syndromes in macroevolution and ecology.
Article in Ecology and evolution, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Rapid floral syndrome convergence inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The Coevolution of Colour Patterns and Hindwing Shapes on a Large Phylogenetic Scale Reveals Predation-Driven Adaptive Syndromes in Swallowtail Butterflies.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Plant Regeneration Trait Syndromes, Tradeoffs, and Linkages to Adult Abundance for Native and Exotic Grassland Plants.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Recruitment of Sugar Transport and Scent Volatile Genes for Prey Attraction in the Nectar Spoon of Heliamphora tatei.Evolution & development · 2025Article
- Effects of individual traits vs. trait syndromes on assemblages of various herbivore guilds associated with central European Salix.Oecologia · 2024Article
- Comparative phylogenomics and phylotranscriptomics provide insights into the genetic complexity of nitrogen-fixing root-nodule symbiosis.Plant communications · 2024Article
- Article
- Pollination syndromes and the origins of floral traits.Annals of botany · 2023Review
- How to approach the study of syndromes in macroevolution and ecology.Ecology and evolution · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Syndromes, wherein multiple traits evolve convergently in response to a shared selective driver, form a central concept in ecology and evolution. Recent work has questioned the existence of some classic syndromes, such as pollination and seed dispersal syndromes. Here, we discuss some of the major issues that have afflicted research into syndromes in macroevolution and ecology. First, correlated evolution of traits and hypothesized selective drivers is often relied on as the only evidence for adaptation of those traits to those hypothesized drivers, without supporting evidence. Second, the selective driver is often inferred from a combination of traits without explicit testing. Third, researchers often measure traits that are easy for humans to observe rather than measuring traits that are suited to testing the hypothesis of adaptation. Finally, species are often chosen for study because of their striking phenotypes, which leads to the illusion of syndromes and divergence. We argue that these issues can be avoided by combining studies of trait variation across entire clades or communities with explicit tests of adaptive hypotheses and that taking this approach will lead to a better understanding of syndrome-like evolution and its drivers.
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Registered trials
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