Abstract
An evolutionary tree (also known as a phylogeny), is a tree-like diagram that shows the evolutionary relationship among species (e.g. humans are closer related to chimps than to crocodiles). Creating and interpreting these are important to understand speciation. A biologist makes quite some assumptions when creating an evolutionary species tree from DNA. When are these assumptions too simple or needlessly complicated? This research proposes a novel method to answer this question. This Bayesian method, named 'pirouette', does so for standard speciation models, but also for new, less explored ones.
When applying 'pirouette' to a new speciation model, we conclude that, would nature allow multiple speciations to occur simultaneously, standard speciation models still give satisfactory evolutionary trees.
When applying 'pirouette' to a new speciation model, we conclude that, would nature allow multiple speciations to occur simultaneously, standard speciation models still give satisfactory evolutionary trees.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
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Award date | 18-Sept-2020 |
Place of Publication | [Groningen] |
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Publication status | Published - 2020 |