The Shape of Evolution: The MBL Model and Clade Shape
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
This chapter discusses how the so-called “MBL Radical” model of simulated clade shape was developed. Paleontologist Tom Schopf organized a meeting in the winter of 1972 at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts which was attended by Stephen Jay Gould, Dave Raup, and Dan Simberloff. There were problems in analyzing raw data for patterns and trends. This led Simberloff to propose a null hypothesis for evaluating the effects of natural selection on phylogenetic patterns, and Raup wrote the simulation program that reflected this picture of evolution. This chapter suggests that the MBL model offers important lessons about theory testing and simulation that resonate beyond paleobiology.
Publication Title
The Paleobiological Revolution: Essays on the Growth of Modern Paleontology
First Page
326
Last Page
345
Recommended Citation
Huss, John E., "The Shape of Evolution: The MBL Model and Clade Shape" (2009). Philosophy Faculty Research. 56.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/philosophy_ideas/56