How ecology and landscape dynamics shape phylogenetic trees

Whether biotic or abiotic factors are the dominant drivers of clade diversification is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. The ubiquitous patterns of phylogenetic imbalance and branching slowdown have been taken as supporting the role of ecological niche filling and spatial heterogeneity in ecological features, and thus of biotic processes, in diversification. However, a proper theoretical assessment of the relative roles of biotic and abiotic factors in macroevolution requires models that integrate both types of factors, and such models have been lacking. In this study, we use an individual-based model to investigate the temporal patterns of diversification driven by ecological speciation in a stochastically fluctuating geographic landscape. The model generates phylogenies whose shape evolves as the clade ages. Stabilization of tree shape often occurs after ecological saturation, revealing species turnover caused by competition and demographic stochasticity. In the initia...