Punctuated equilibria or gradual evolution: fluctuating asymmetry and variation in the rate of evolution.

Abstract excerpt

The debate on long-term rates of evolution is polarized around two models: the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis (long periods of very little evolution interrupted by periods of relatively rapid evolutionary change) and the gradual view (the rate of evolution is gradual, albeit with variable rate). Here we suggest that the pace of evolutionary change can be independently determined by estimating the degree of...

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