Data from: Modeling phylogenetic biome shifts on a planet with a past

The spatial distribution of biomes has changed considerably over deep
time, so the geographical opportunity for an evolutionary lineage to shift
into a new biome may depend on how the availability and connectivity of
biomes has varied temporally. To better understand how lineages shift
between biomes in space and time, we developed a phylogenetic biome shift
model in which each lineage shifts between biomes and disperses between
regions at rates that depend on the lineage’s biome affinity and location
relative to the spatiotemporal distribution of biomes at any given time.
To study the behavior of the biome shift model in an empirical setting, we
developed a literature-based representation of paleobiome structure for
three mesic forest biomes, six regions, and eight time strata, ranging
from the Late Cretaceous (100 Ma) through the present. We then fitted the
model to a time-calibrated phylogeny of 119 Viburnum species to compare
how the results responded to various realistic or unrealistic assumptions
about paleobiome structure. Ancestral biome estimates that account for
paleobiome dynamics reconstructed a warm temperate (or tropical) origin of
Viburnum, which is consistent with previous fossil-based estimates of
ancestral biomes. Imposing unrealistic paleobiome distributions led to
ancestral biome estimates that eliminated support for tropical origins,
and instead inflated support for cold temperate ancestry throughout the
warmer Paleocene and Eocene. The biome shift model we describe is
applicable to the study of evolutionary systems beyond Viburnum, and the
core mechanisms of our model are extensible to the design of richer
phylogenetic models of historical biogeography and/or lineage
diversification. We conclude that biome shift models that account for
dynamic geographical opportunities are important for inferring ancestral
biomes that are compatible with our understanding of Earth history.