Spurious or Island Effect? A Response to J. A. Pérez-Claros and J. C. Aledo's Comment on 'Morphological Evolution Is Accelerated among Island Mammals'
2007
Response to Comment on Island Mammals' Evolution
Commentary
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Virginie Millien
Primary Institution: Redpath Museum, McGill University
Hypothesis
Is the accelerated evolution in island mammals well supported by data?
Conclusion
The differences in evolutionary rates between island and mainland mammals remain statistically significant despite concerns raised about the dataset.
Supporting Evidence
- The study argues that the criticisms do not affect the main conclusion about island mammals evolving faster.
- The dataset used is the largest ever assembled for studying morphological rates of evolution in mammals.
- The analysis of a reduced dataset may not be meaningful for addressing the evolutionary question.
Takeaway
The study says that island mammals evolve faster than mainland ones, and this finding is still valid even after some criticisms.
Potential Biases
Concerns about the dataset's representativeness and the potential for spurious effects.
Limitations
The dataset is unbalanced, with over-representation of island taxa for small time intervals and mainland data for large time intervals.
Statistical Information
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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