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11.S: Fitting Birth-Death Models (Summary)

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    21647
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    In this chapter, I described how to estimate parameters from birth-death models using data on species diversity and ages, and how to use patterns of tree balance to test hypotheses about changing birth and death rates. I also described how to calculate the likelihood for birth-death models on trees, which leads directly to both ML and Bayesian methods for estimating birth and death rates. In the next chapter, we will explore elaborations on birth-death models, and discuss models that go beyond constant-rates birth-death models to analyze the diversity of life on Earth.

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