RYC2019-026703-I - Tiempo y modo de diversificación en radi

This project lies at the interface between ecology and evolution and addresses how historical, phylogenetic and spatial patterns of ecomorphological and lineage diversity are influenced by biotic and abiotic factors and the interaction between them. This project seeks to better understand how phenotypic traits evolve, how species richness accumulates, how the rate of evolution differs among lineages and over evolutionary time, and the mechanisms driving these varying rates of change. Hence, some of the questions this proposal tries to ask include: Why do some groups have such tremendous ecological and morphological diversity? Why many others (morphostatic radiations) do not show remarkable disparity? Why do some biogeographic regions harbor greater diversity than others? Which is the role of niche conservatism in shaping distribution patterns? How does ecological opportunity influence rates of speciation-extinction, and morphological diversification in vertebrates? To deal with these questions, this project uses an integrative approach in which I combine phylogenetic data, ecological and morphological data (from museum collections or online repositories), and distribution data (species geographic range maps, ecological niche models). The proposal is focused on the study of taxonomic groups (passerines, marsupials) that diversified into the Australo-Papuan region. Most of them are iconic but poorly-studied radiations exhibiting contrasting levels of niche and trait disparity. The singularity of its fauna and the striking variability that can be observed within Australian vertebrate families makes this island-continent a very suitable scenario for studying diversification dynamics at a regional scale.