Species selection and the macroevolution of coral coloniality and photosymbiosis.

Differences in the relative diversification rates of species with variant traits are known as species selection. Species selection can produce a macroevolutionary change in the frequencies of traits by changing the relative number of species possessing each trait over time. But species selection is not the only process that can change the frequencies of traits, phyletic microevolution of traits within species and phylogenetic trait evolution among species, the tempo and mode of microevolution can also change trait frequencies.

Evolutionary diversification of reef corals: a comparison of the molecular and fossil records.

Understanding historical patterns of diversity dynamics is of paramount importance for many evolutionary questions. The fossil record has long been the only source of information on patterns of diversification, but the molecular record, derived from time-calibrated phylogenies, is becoming an important additional resource. Both fossil and molecular approaches have shortcomings and biases.

The role of extinction in large-scale diversity-stability relationships.

More-diverse communities are thought to be ecologically stable because a greater number of ecological interactions among members allows for the increases in robustness and resilience. Diversity-stability relationships have mostly been studied on short ecological time scales but one study has identified such patterns over million-year time scales in reef communities. Here we propose and test a hypothesis for the mechanism of large-scale diversity-stability relationships in reefs.