Data from: Using molecular phylogenies in island biogeography: it’s about time

Island biogeography aims at inferring the processes that govern the
assembly of communities in space and time. Molecular phylogenies can tell
us about the timings of island colonisations and diversification, but have
rarely been used for the estimation of colonisation, speciation and
extinction rates on islands. In this study we illustrate the effects of
including phylogenetic information with the Galápagos avifauna. We find
that by including colonisation times we obtain much more precise and
accurate parameter estimates than if we rely solely on species richness
and endemicity status. Inclusion of branching times improves estimates
even further. As molecular phylogenies become increasingly available, we
urge biogeographers to start using more of the information they contain.