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Synopses of Research Articles Bridging the Gap between Theory and Ecology in Evolutionary Models Liza Gross | DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040405 The history of life is fi lled with examples of one species diverging into several, even thousands, each with unique traits geared to the demands of its ecological niche. In the textbook case of adaptive radiation, an ancestral fi nch species landed on the Galapagos Islands just a few million years ago, and evolved into 13 new species with specialized beaks adapted to exploiting the various seeds, nuts, insects, and other food sources on the island. Adaptive radiations suggest that species evolution follows the fi rst rule of business: fi nd a niche and fi ll it. But that’s not what most models used to detect evolutionary patterns of trait evolution assume. And in a new study, Robert Freckleton and Paul Harvey demonstrate the limitations of that choice. They also introduce a method DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040405.g001 to minimize those limitations by Old World Leaf warblers and Dendroica warblers (Dendroica fusca, pictured above), two using a diagnostic tool that can detect classic cases of adaptive evolution, served as case studies for two diagnostic tests designed evolutionary patterns that deviate from to reveal deviations from a Brownian motion model of trait evolution. the standard models. The complexity of evolutionary processes and spottiness of the fossil been tested—assumes (among other expect ecological differences to arise record calls for statistical models— things) that traits evolve at a constant with or shortly after speciation, rather whose accuracy depends on their rate over time. than at a constant pace dependent only assumptions—to infer historical Freckleto