In their most recent paper published in Systematic Biology, Phillip Mitteroecker, Michael L. Collyer and Dean C. Adams introduce a new system to measure phylogenetic signal in multivariate phenotypes. Phylogenetic signal is the tendency of closely related species to resemble each other more than distant ones. The authors approach a long-standing challenge in the statistical estimation of phylogenetic signal in mutivariate phenotypes, as phylogenetic signal until now have been mostly designed for univariate traits. However, biological traits are often multivariate, and univariate measures are therefore inadequate, and not meaningful on their own. The authors propose a novel method where the multivariate data is decomposed into linear combinations with the most or least phylogenetic signal, which is measured by Blomberg’s K. These components, called K-components, can be interpreted biologically, and scatterplots can show the data in a way that preserves phylogenetic signal. (Click on title to continue.)
In their most recent paper published in Systematic Biology, Phillip Mitteroecker, Michael L. Collyer and Dean C. Adams introduce a new system to measure phylogenetic signal in multivariate phenotypes. Phylogenetic signal is the tendency of closely related species to resemble each other more than distant ones. The authors approach a long-standing challenge in the statistical estimation of phylogenetic signal in mutivariate phenotypes, as phylogenetic signal until now have been mostly designed for univariate traits. However, biological traits are often multivariate, and univariate measures are therefore inadequate, and not meaningful on their own. The authors propose a novel method where the multivariate data is decomposed into linear combinations with the most or least phylogenetic signal, which is measured by Blomberg’s K. These components, called K-components, can be interpreted biologically, and scatterplots can show the data in a way that preserves phylogenetic signal. (Click on title to continue.)
What lies behind the making of a scientific paper that challenges the very foundations of a field? In a candid interview with Hari Sridhar, Kevin Lala tells the back story of one such paper "The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions" published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B in 2015, and reflects on the paper's influence today, nearly 10 years after it was published. Read this interview on the Reflections on Papers Past website, which is a treasure trove of fantastic conversations with authors of well-known and influential papers in the field of Ecology and Evolution. (Click on title to continue.)
What lies behind the making of a scientific paper that challenges the very foundations of a field? In a candid interview with Hari Sridhar, Kevin Lala tells the back story of one such paper "The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions" published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B in 2015, and reflects on the paper's influence today, nearly 10 years after it was published. Read this interview on the Reflections on Papers Past website, which is a treasure trove of fantastic conversations with authors of well-known and influential papers in the field of Ecology and Evolution. (Click on title to continue.)
Read the editors’ summary of the latest issue, with free reading links for all the articles in 19(2). The issue includes two articles that each discusses the implications for evolutionary theory of the ideas of an iconic philosopher, a critical evaluation of recent writings on agency, and an essay on a classic paper of T. C. Schneirla’s on behavior with a first-ever English translation of a live debate following its presentation.
Read the editors’ summary of the latest issue, with free reading links for all the articles in 19(2). The issue includes two articles that each discusses the implications for evolutionary theory of the ideas of an iconic philosopher, a critical evaluation of recent writings on agency, and an essay on a classic paper of T. C. Schneirla’s on behavior with a first-ever English translation of a live debate following its presentation.
Summer heralds conferences and workshops, and our KLI Fellows will be participating in many of them around the world. Let’s take a look at who’s is presenting what and where this summer! (watch this space for more as the list progresses…)
Summer heralds conferences and workshops, and our KLI Fellows will be participating in many of them around the world. Let’s take a look at who’s is presenting what and where this summer! (watch this space for more as the list progresses…)
