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Digest: Process‐based phylogenetic models provide unique insights into the evolution of mutualistic networks *
Author(s) -
Kaur Katrina M.,
Pennell Matthew W.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.13856
Subject(s) - biology , obligate , evolutionary biology , phylogenetic tree , mutualism (biology) , coevolution , phylogenetics , ecology , gene , genetics
Figs and their pollinating fig wasps are a classic example of long‐term obligate associations between different species. Satler et al. use a process‐based model adopted from molecular evolution to identify the major processes that affect cophylogenetic matching between figs and fig wasps. They find that host‐switching is one of the most important evolutionary processes contributing to current cophylogenetic patterns, illustrating the value of probabilistic approaches to studying the evolutionary history of mutualisms.