Phylogenetics and Ecology

The relationship between systematics and ecology has recently been invigorated, and developed a long way from the "old" field of comparative biology. This change has been two-fold. Advances in phylogenetic research have allowed explicit phylogenetic hypotheses to be constructed for a range of different groups of organisms, and ecologists are now more aware that organism traits are influenced by the interaction of past and present. This volume discusses the impact of these modern phylogenetic methods on ecology, especially those using comparative methods.
Although unification of these areas has proved difficult, a number of conclusions can be drawn from the text. These include the need for a "working" bridge between evolutionary biologists using logic-based cladistic methods and those using probability-based statistical methods, for care in the selection of tree types for comparative studies and for systematists to attempt to analyse ecologically important groups.
Comparative ecologists and systematists need to come together to develop these ideas further, but this volume presents a very useful starting point for all those interested in systematics and ecology.

PAUL EGGLETON and RICHARD I. VANE-WRIGHT, Introduction. DANIEL R. BROOKES and DEBORAH A. MCLENNAN, Historical Ecology as a Research Programme. MARK D. PAGEL, The Adaptionist Wager. JONATHAN A. CODDINGTON, The Roles of Homology and Convergence Studies of Adaptation. JOHN W. WENZEL and JAMES M. CARPENTER, Comparing Methods. JOHN L. GITTLEMAN and HANG-KWANG LUH, Phylogeny, Evolutionary Models and Comparative Methods. E.N. ARNOLD, Investigating the Origins of Performance Advantage. DANIEL P. FAITH and L. BELBIN, Distinguishing Phylogenetic Effects in Multivariate Models Relating to EUCALYPTUS Convergent Morphology to Environment. R.S. THORPE, R.P. BROWN, M. DAY, A. MALHOTRA, D.P. MCGREGOR, And W. WUSTER, Testing Ecological and Phylogenetic Hypotheses in Microevolutionary Studies. ADRIAN E. FRIDAY, Adaptation and Phylogenetic Inference. PAUL H. HARVEY and SEAN NEE, Comparing Real with Expected Patterns from Molecular Phylogenies. ARNE M. MOOERS, SEAN NEE, And PAUL H. HARVEY, Biological and Algorithmic Correlates of Phenetic Tree Pattern. SOREN NYLIN and NINA WEDELL, Sexual Size Dimorphism and Comparative Methods. MICHAEL D. CRISP, Evolution of Bird Pollination in Some Australian Legumes. BIRGITTA SILLEN-TULLBERG and HAND TEMRIN, A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Relationship Between Polygamy, Pair Bond Length, And the Characteristics of Young Birds. FRANCIS GILBERT, GRAHAM ROTHERY, PAUL EMERSON and REHENA ZAFAR, The Evolution of Feeding Stratagies. PAUL EGGLETON and R.I. VANE-WRIGHT, Some Principles of Phylogenetics and Their Implications for Comparative Biology.