Mosaic Morphological Evolution
Testing which model of evolution fits each morphological character
Morphological datasets are usually analysed with a single model of evolution applied to every character. But different parts of an organism evolve under different constraints, so there is little reason to expect all characters to follow the same evolutionary process.
In this project, we test model fit character by character on a fixed phylogeny to reveal the mosaic nature of morphological evolution. We ask:
- Do all characters fit a simple model of morphological evolution?
- Do some characters follow a rate-switching (covarion-like) process?
- Do some characters show asymmetric transition rates, suggesting directional or irreversible evolution?
- Are some characters evolving in a correlated way with other characters?
This work is currently in review.
Khakurel, B., Darlim, G., Capobianco, A., & Höhna, S. Character level insights on the mosaic nature of morphological evolution. Submitted to PNAS Nexus.