Replicated Radiations Reveal Temporally Structured Macroevolutionary Dynamics

Replicated African cichlid radiations demonstrate early burst trait evolution that diminishes with age, revealing temporally structured macroevolutionary dynamics.

• Why it matters: Understanding how adaptive radiations unfold over time helps clarify the mechanisms driving biodiversity and addresses why early-burst patterns are rarely observed within individual clades.
• What they did: The study compared multiple cichlid radiations across different timescales, analyzing vertebral count evolution rates and phylogenetic signals to detect patterns of trait diversification.
• The result: Findings show rapid early phenotypic expansion that slows over time, with stabilizing processes emerging later, highlighting the importance of temporal sampling in detecting macroevolutionary patterns.