Phylogenetic Trees and Molecular Evolution : A Hands-on Introduction with Uncertainty Quantification Corrected / [E-Book]

Introduction to phylogenetic trees -- A divergence time story: the rise and fall of the molecular clock -- Estimating phylogenetic trees -- Estimating divergence times -- Estimating common ancestors -- Testing theories of molecular evolution -- Recommendations for further reading -- Appendix A: Intermittent point processes -- Appendix B: Poisson processes with Lv̌y-stable substitution rates.

This book serves as a brief introduction to phylogenetic trees and molecular evolution for biologists and biology students. It does so by presenting the main concepts in a variety of ways: first visually, then in a history, next in a dice game, and finally in simple equations. The content is primarily designed to introduce upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of biology to phylogenetic tree reconstruction and the underlying models of molecular evolution. A unique feature also of interest to experienced researchers is the emphasis on simple ways to quantify the uncertainty in the results more fully than is possible with standard methods.