Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Curr Biol. 2017 May 8;27(9):R333-R336. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.049.
Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) enable us to study the history of organismal evolution and diversification. PCMs comprise a collection of statistical methods for inferring history from piecemeal information, primarily combining two types of data: first, an estimate of species relatedness, usually based on their genes, and second, contemporary trait values of extant organisms. Some PCMs also incorporate information from geological records, especially fossils, but also other gradual and episodic events in the Earth's history (for example, trait data from fossils or the global oxygen concentration as an independent variable). It is important to note at the outset that PCMs are not concerned with reconstructing the evolutionary relationships among species; this has to do with estimating the phylogeny from genetic, fossil and other data, and a separate set of methods for this process makes up the field of phylogenetics. PCMs as a set of methods are distinct from, but are not completely independent of, phylogenetics. PCMs are used to address the questions: how did the characteristics of organisms evolve through time and what factors influenced speciation and extinction?
系统发育比较方法（PCMs）使我们能够研究生物进化和多样化的历史。PCMs 包括一组用于从零碎信息中推断历史的统计方法，主要结合两种类型的数据：首先，是对物种亲缘关系的估计，通常基于它们的基因，其次，是现存生物的当代特征值。一些 PCMs 还纳入了地质记录的信息，特别是化石，但也包括地球历史上的其他渐进和突发事件（例如，来自化石的特征数据或全球氧气浓度作为独立变量）。需要注意的是，PCMs 并不关心重建物种之间的进化关系；这与从遗传、化石和其他数据估计系统发育有关，而用于该过程的一组单独方法构成了系统发育学领域。PCMs 作为一组方法与系统发育学不同，但并非完全独立。PCMs 用于解决以下问题：生物的特征是如何随时间进化的，以及哪些因素影响物种形成和灭绝？
