In this episode, the gang

discusses two papers about the long term macroevolutionary effectsof ecological specialization. Is specialization on a specificecology an evolutionary dead end? The gang attempts to answer thatquestion, but they keep getting distracted. Also, James shares lifeexperiences, Amanda imagines a nightmarish future for James, andCurt workshops the plot of a new epic animated experience.

References:

Day, Emma H., Xia Hua, and Lindell Bromham. "Is specialization

an evolutionary dead end? Testing for differences in speciation,extinction and trait transition rates across diverse phylogenies ofspecialists and generalists." Journal of EvolutionaryBiology (2016).

Burin, Gustavo, et al.

"Omnivory in birds is a macroevolutionary sink."NatureCommunications 7 (2016).