title: Stochastic models for phylogenetic trees on higher-order taxa.
abstract: Simple stochastic models for phylogenetic trees on species have been well studied. But much paleontology data concerns time series or trees on higher-order taxa, and any broad picture of relationships between extant groups requires use of higher-order taxa. A coherent model for trees on (say) genera should involve both a species-level model and a model for the classification scheme by which species are assigned to genera. We present a general framework for such models, and describe three alternate classification schemes. Combining with the species-level model of Aldous and Popovic (Adv Appl Probab 37:1094-1115, 2005), one gets models for higher-order trees, and we initiate analytic study of such models. In particular we derive formulas for the lifetime of genera, for the distribution of number of species per genus, and for the offspring structure of the tree on genera.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of California, 367 Evans Hall # 3860, Berkeley, CA 94720-3860, USA. aldous@stat.berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aldous
authors.forename: Maxim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krikun
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Popovic
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity; D013269:Stochastic Processes