Meeting Abstract

LBS3.1  Friday, Jan. 4  Testing macroevolutionary hypotheses in fishes: examples from the Acanthomorpha ALFARO, ME*; BROCK, CDB; BANBURY, B; DORNBURG, A; SANTINI, F; Washington State University; Washington State University; Washington State University; Washington State University; University of Toronto alfaro@wsu.edu

Elucidating patterns of diversification of acanthomorph fishes, by far the most diverse clade of teleosts, ranks as one the great challenges facing modern evolutionary ichthyologists. Recent efforts have resulted in phylogenies for several major subclades of acanthomorphs and produced preliminary hypotheses of relationships for the group as a whole. Here we illustrate how timetrees, constructed by integrating molecular phylogenetic data with fossil information, can be used as frameworks for examining a range of macroevolutionary hypotheses within and across acanthomorphs including: 1) does reef association increase diversification rate, 2) are rates of morphological, mechanical, and species diversification tightly coupled, and 3) what do absolute diversification rates of acanthomorph subclades reveal about hypotheses of adaptive radiation?