R project tracing the origin of Falcon species
The Falconidae are a diverse family of birds that inhabit every continent on the planet. They are a relatively young clade and only originated in South America approximately 40 million years ago (Griffiths 1999). Even though they are not a very large phylogeny, consisting of only 64 species, their patterns of diversification and geographic dispersal shed insight into the ability of caracaras and other Falcinoformes to rapidly speciate and settle into novel environments. This study aims to find the link between the geographic patterns of the Falconidae and the unique patterns of speciation and diversification that distinguish each subclade within the family. We use a Bayesian Analysis of Macroevolutionary Mixtures, analysis of the gamma statistic through a Monte Carlo Constant Rates test, and a geographical analysis of Falconidae ancestral nodes through BioGeoBEARS. Through a structured approach we aim to first establish the increase in diversification rates in Falconidae closer to the present, and then proceed to analyze some of the factors that might have caused this increase. Throughout our analysis we develop the concept of geographic radiation, which we hope will elucidate patterns of diversification amongst birds and other species with varied home regions. Most of all we present evidence rejecting the hypothesis that there is no correlation between geographic dispersal patterns and rates of diversification of the Falconidae.
Graphical Abstract of Falconidae ANalysis:
The macroevolutionary analysis on diversification and dispersal of the Falconidae was conducted through a BAMM analysis, two rate-through-time analyses, an analysis of gamma statistic through MCCR, the creation of the marginal shift probabilities, and a geographic analysis of BioGeoBEARS. The overall conclusions of this lab pertain to the increase in diversification rate of the Falconidae species after the adaptation to survival in multiple regions (in this case geographic continents). There is evidence to suggest geographic dispersal to numerous non-isolated areas could provide the necessary elements to increase diversification rates of the Falconidae family. There is also evidence supporting previous research that South America was the point of origin for the Falconidae (Griffiths 1999). The behavior and diversification of this clade of falcons and caracaras gives insight to diversification rates of other falcinoformes, which could be the subject of future studies.
Please email me at vigneshbalasundaram@gmail.com for more information regarding this study and the origin of the Falcon species.
Created by Vignesh Balasundaram.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA, 2018
Professor Michael Alfaro, Tyler McCraney 1B