AI tool reveals climate shifts may have fueled bursts of bird evolution
University of Michigan researchers used AI to analyze skeletal measurements of birds, discovering that evolutionary bursts in Passeriformes often aligned with historical climate shifts. This study supports the theory that environmental changes drive rapid diversification in species.
Why it matters
It provides empirical evidence for long-standing evolutionary theories regarding how climate change influences the pace of biological diversification.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Andrew Zinin
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Add as preferred source Guianan Cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola). Sentier des Coqs-de-Roche, French Guiana. University of Michigan researchers found that birds in the group Passeriformes evolved in rapid bursts that coincided with climatic shifts. Credit: Cody Limber/Macaulay Library University of Michigan researchers have used an AI tool to demonstrate that birds in the group Passeriformes evolved in rapid evolutionary bursts and that these bursts frequently coincided with climate shifts throughout Earth's history.
Evolutionary theory predicts that the evolution of organisms occurs in pulsed bursts followed by slowdowns—something researchers have seen hints of in the fossil record.
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