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When are phylogenetic analyses misled by convergence? A case study in Texas cave salamanders.
John J Wiens1, Paul T Chippindale, David M Hillis
1Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5245, USA. wiensj@life.bio.sunysb.edu
Systematic Biology
|July 15, 2003
Summary
Convergent evolution can mislead phylogenetic analyses, especially in morphologically similar species adapting to new environments. This study identifies criteria to detect such misleading evolutionary signals using cave salamanders as an example.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Systematics
- Phylogenetics
Background:
- Adaptive convergence, similarity not due to shared ancestry, is a key issue in evolutionary biology.
- Morphological phylogenetics often faces challenges due to convergence, yet strongly misleading examples are rare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose criteria for identifying phylogenetic analyses misled by convergence.
- To investigate misleading phylogenetic signals from adaptive convergence in central Texas cave salamanders (genus Eurycea).
Main Methods:
- Development of criteria to infer convergence-driven phylogenetic errors.
- Comparative analysis of morphological data versus molecular data (mitochondrial DNA, allozymes).
Main Results:
- Morphological data suggested a close relationship between E. rathbuni and E. tridentifera, contrary to molecular and allozyme data.
- Molecular and allozyme data indicated these species are not closely related, revealing a misleading phylogenetic signal.
Conclusions:
- The conditions favoring strongly misleading morphological convergence are limited.
- Convergence is most problematic in species-rich groups with high morphological similarity and adaptation to novel environments, as seen in Eurycea.