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A Simulation-Based Evaluation of Tip-Dating Under the Fossilized Birth-Death Process
Arong Luo1,2, David A Duchêne2, Chi Zhang3,4
1Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Systematic Biology
|May 28, 2019
Summary
Tip-dating using the fossilized birth-death model accurately estimates evolutionary root and crown group ages. However, it struggles with fossil placement and sampled ancestor identification, with fossil occurrence number and age being key factors.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Phylogenetics
- Computational biology
Background:
- Bayesian molecular dating commonly uses fossil calibrations on phylogenetic trees.
- Tip-dating offers an alternative by integrating fossil data directly into analyses.
- The fossilized birth-death process models lineage diversification with non-contemporaneous tips and sampled ancestors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the performance of tip-dating with the fossilized birth-death model.
- To assess the impact of fossil sampling and character evolution on dating accuracy.
- To understand the method's utility for inferring evolutionary timescales and topologies.
Main Methods:
- Simulated nucleotide sequences and morphological character evolution under various conditions.
- Applied tip-dating using the fossilized birth-death model to simulated data.
- Varied parameters including fossil occurrence, rate variation, and character number.
Main Results:
- Fossil occurrence number and maximum age significantly influenced node time and topology estimates.
- Tip-dating accurately recovered extant taxon relationships but struggled with fossil placement and sampled ancestor counts.
- Root and crown group ages were estimated accurately, with precision dependent on fossil occurrence probability.
Conclusions:
- Tip-dating with the fossilized birth-death model is effective for estimating major divergence times.
- Further refinement is needed for accurate fossil placement and sampled ancestor inference.
- The study highlights the critical role of fossil data quality and quantity in molecular dating.
Keywords:
Bayesian phylogeneticsevolutionary simulationfossilized birth–death processmolecular clocktip-datingtotal-evidence datingMore Related Videos
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