The art and science of species delimitation

DNA-based approaches to systematics have changed dramatically during the last two decades with the rise of DNA barcoding methods and newer multi-locus methods for species delimitation. During the last half-decade, partly driven by the new sequencing technologies, the focus has shifted to multi-locus sequence data and the identification of species within the framework of the multi-species coalescent (MSC). In this paper, I discuss model-based Bayesian methods for species delimitation that have been developed in recent years using the MSC. Several approximate methods for species delimitation (and their limitations) are also discussed. Explicit species delimitation models have the advantage of clarifying more precisely what is being delimited and what assumptions we are making in doing so. Moreover, the methods can be very powerful when applied to large multi-locus datasets and thus take full advantage of data generated using today’s technologies.

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