Modern Phylogenetic Comparative Methods and Their Application in Evolutionary Biology Concepts and Practice /

Phylogenetic comparative approaches are powerful analytical tools for making evolutionary inferences from interspecific data and phylogenies. The phylogenetic toolkit available to evolutionary biologists is currently growing at an incredible speed, but most methodological papers are published in the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Garamszegi, La��szlo�� Zsolt
Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
Published: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer, 2014
Subjects:
Description
Summary:Phylogenetic comparative approaches are powerful analytical tools for making evolutionary inferences from interspecific data and phylogenies. The phylogenetic toolkit available to evolutionary biologists is currently growing at an incredible speed, but most methodological papers are published in the specialized statistical literature and many are incomprehensible for the user community. This textbook provides an overview of several newly developed phylogenetic comparative methods that allow to investigate a broad array of questions on how phenotypic characters evolve along the branches of phylogeny and how such mechanisms shape complex animal communities and interspecific interactions. The individual chapters were written by the leading experts in the field and using a language that is accessible for practicing evolutionary biologists. The authors carefully explain the philosophy behind different methodologies and provide pointers - mostly using a dynamically developing online interface - on how these methods can be implemented in practice. These 'conceptual' and 'practical' materials are essential for expanding the qualification of both students and scientists, but also offer a valuable resource for educators
Physical Description:1 online resource (XV, 552 p. 113 illus., 47 illus. in color.) online resource
ISBN:9783662435496
9783662435502