tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567196806175372342.post6569096263242713084..comments2023-05-11T12:03:15.284+00:00Comments on this life's a fiction: Where is evolution fastest?Malacodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02602635447222532525noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567196806175372342.post-16101588239781104292007-03-20T16:41:00.000+00:002007-03-20T16:41:00.000+00:00Hi Mambo. You are right. The implication is that t...Hi Mambo. You are right. The implication is that turnover is highest in the temperate regions. This is bad news for tropical species as it implies human-induced extinction there will be harder to bounce back from than in temperate regions.Malacodahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02602635447222532525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567196806175372342.post-44951925441027414312007-03-19T14:51:00.000+00:002007-03-19T14:51:00.000+00:00I just read a news brief on this today, but it was...I just read a news brief on this today, but it was stated in it that places with high speciation rates (temperate zones in this case) will also have a high extinction rates. So collectively, there will be lower diversity in the temperate zones but higher diversity in tropical zones. I don't know what you guys think of this coz I'm not informed enough in this, but I just thought this was interesting.Raptor's Nest (old)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11093451947295359924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567196806175372342.post-40881664252541088052007-03-17T13:44:00.000+00:002007-03-17T13:44:00.000+00:00I hadn't really thought about it, but you make an ...I hadn't really thought about it, but you make an important point. I didn't explicitly state it myself, but the divergence dates were based on molecular clocks, which themselves assume some constancy of rate of molecular evolution. And yet, for plants at least, this rate differs in different regions. Perhaps we should write a reply? ;)Malacodahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02602635447222532525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567196806175372342.post-51840515977281548102007-03-16T15:32:00.000+00:002007-03-16T15:32:00.000+00:00As you stated, currently there is a greater divers...As you stated, currently there is a greater diversity of life in the tropical regions. What I am wondering however, is if you are using molecular methods to determine the divergence of tropical species, then in calibrating your clock is it an issue that the tropics have not always been the most diverse areas? When the Earth is in an ‘icebox’ phase as we are now, the greatest diversity lies in the tropics but during a ‘greenhouse’ phase the greatest diversity lies in the temperate regions.Sarda Sahneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15304436221452464387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567196806175372342.post-72723822011577765172007-03-16T15:16:00.000+00:002007-03-16T15:16:00.000+00:00Though I am familiar with many of the critisms sur...Though I am familiar with many of the critisms surrounding calibrating molecular clock I don't know enough about the methods to comment myself. I did however, enjoy this quote:<BR/><BR/>"Trying to estimate the divergence times of fungal, algal or prokaryotic groups on the basis of a partial reptilian fossil and protein sequences from mice and<BR/>humans is like trying to decipher<BR/>Demotic Egyptian with the help of an odometer and the Oxford English<BR/>Dictionary."<BR/>-- D. Graur & W. Martin.<BR/>2004. Trends in Genetics 20(2).Sarda Sahneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15304436221452464387noreply@blogger.com