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Paleobuddy overview

Bruno do Rosario Petrucci

paleobuddy is an R package for species birth-death simulation, complete with the possibility of generating phylogenetic trees and fossil records from the results. The package offers unprecedented flexibility in the choice of speciation, extinction, and fossil sampling rates, as we will showcase in this vignette.

One of the biggest reason to write and publish a simulator is to effectively test rate estimation methods with scenarios whose true dynamics are known—others might include model adequacy tests and the study of scenarios without an analytical solution. This leads to an intuitive overview of the package: in this vignette, we will first generate a couple of useful scenarios to show use cases of the package. Then, we will discuss the choice of rates further, detailing the customization capabilities of both the birth-death and sampling functions. Finally, we will conclude going over the shortcomings of the package, including the features we plan to implement in the future. As new versions are released, this document will be updated to reflect the newest features.

First we do some setup.

# importing the package functions
library(paleobuddy)

Constant rate birth-death

Let us try the simplest possible birth-death scenario - constant speciation and extinction rates.

bd.sim is the birth-death simulator in the package. We use it to generate a group.

# we set a seed so the results are reproducible
set.seed(1)

# set the necessary parameters
# initial number of species
n0 <- 1

# speciation rate - approx. 1 speciation event every 4my
# we are trying to create a big phylogeny so phytools can function better
lambda <- 0.25

# extinction rate - approx. 1 extinction event every 10my
mu <- 0.15

# maximum simulation time - species that die after this are considered extant
tMax <- 50

# run the simulation
sim <- bd.sim(n0, lambda, mu, tMax)

# take a look at the way the result is organized
sim
## 
## Birth-death simulation object with 51 species and 11 extant species
## 
## Details for some species:
## 
## Extinction times (NA means extant)
## [1] 42.12238 43.38139 45.41614 40.75707 14.60010 37.18177
## 
## 
## Speciation times 
## [1] 50.00000 46.97927 46.39645 45.83726 44.09299 39.14258
## 
## 
## Species parents (NA for initial)
## [1] NA  1  1  1  1  5
## 
## 
## Species status (extinct or extant)
## [1] "extinct" "extinct" "extinct" "extinct" "extinct" "extinct"
## 
## 
## For more details on vector y, try sim$y, with y one of
## TE TS PAR EXTANT

The output of bd.sim is a sim object, a class made up of named vectors that is organized as follows

We can use the function draw.sim to visualize the longevity of species in this simulation.

# draw simulation
draw.sim(sim, showLabel = FALSE)

Species are drawn in order of speciation time by default, though that can be altered. We omit species labels since for a high number of species that can get unruly.

Using this sim object, we can generate a phylogenetic tree using make.phylo.

# there are currently not many customization options for phylogenies
phy <- make.phylo(sim)

# plot it with APE - hide tip labels since there are a lot so it looks cluttered
ape::plot.phylo(phy, show.tip.label = FALSE)
ape::axisPhylo()

# plot the molecular phylogeny
ape::plot.phylo(ape::drop.fossil(phy), show.tip.label = FALSE)
ape::axisPhylo()

From here, we could run this phylogeny through a number of inference software in the field, so as to test their accuracy and robustness. Of course this would require more trees, and larger trees, to control for stochasticity.

For illustration, we create a simulation with more than 500 species, with 253 extant species.

# set a seed
set.seed(3)

# create simulation
# note nExtant, defining we want 200 or more extant species at the end
sim <- bd.sim(n0, lambda, mu, tMax, nExtant = c(200, Inf))

# check the number of extant species
paste0("Number of species alive at the end of the simulation: ", 
       sum(sim$EXTANT))
## [1] "Number of species alive at the end of the simulation: 253"

And we could of course get a molecular phylogeny from it.

# might look a bit cluttered
ape::plot.phylo(ape::drop.fossil(make.phylo(sim)), show.tip.label = FALSE)
ape::axisPhylo()

Time-dependent speciation and extinction

One of the pluses of paleobuddy is that we can generate both fossil records and phylogenies in independent processes, both coming from the same underlying birth-death simulations. We will here use the fossil record generating functions of paleobuddy to generate a fossil record and prepare the output for use with PyRate (Silvestro et al 2014) and Foote’s Per Capita method (Foote 2000), as an example of a workflow using paleobuddy to test inference methods.

As before, start with a simulation

# we set a seed so the results are reproducible
set.seed(5)

# set the necessary parameters
# initial number of species
n0 <- 1

# speciation rate - it can be any function of time!
lambda <- function(t) {
  0.1 + 0.001*t
}

# extinction rate - also can be any function of time
mu <- function(t) {
  0.03 * exp(-0.01*t)
}

# maximum simulation time - species that die after this are considered extant
tMax <- 50

# run the simulation
sim <- bd.sim(n0, lambda, mu, tMax)

# check the resulting clade out
ape::plot.phylo(make.phylo(sim), show.tip.label = FALSE)
ape::axisPhylo()

A lot of species! We can then create a fossil record from this group.

# again set a seed
set.seed(1)

# set the sampling rate
# using a simple case - there will be on average T occurrences,
# per species, where T is the species duration
rho <- 1

# bins - used to represent the uncertainty in fossil occurrence times
bins <- seq(tMax, 0, -1)
# this is a simple 1my bin vector, but one could use the GSA timescale
# or something random, etc

# run the sampling simulation only for the first 10 species for brevity's sake
# returnAll = TRUE makes it so the occurrences are returned as binned as well
# (e.g. an occurrence at time 42.34 is returned as between 42 and 41)
fossils <- suppressMessages(sample.clade(sim = sim, rho = rho, 
                                      tMax = tMax, S = 1:10, 
                                      bins = bins, returnAll = TRUE))
# suppressing messages - the message is to inform the user how
# many speciesleft no fossils. In this case, it was 0

# take a look at how the output is organized
head(fossils)
##   Species Extant    SampT MaxT MinT
## 1      t1  FALSE 49.24482   50   49
## 2      t1  FALSE 48.06318   49   48
## 3      t1  FALSE 47.91747   48   47
## 4      t1  FALSE 47.77767   48   47
## 5      t1  FALSE 47.34160   48   47
## 6      t1  FALSE 44.44664   45   44

The output of sample.clade is a data frame organized as follows

We can visualize the fossil record of this group using draw.sim as well.

# take only first 5 species with head
simHead <- head(sim, 10)

# draw longevities with fossil time points
suppressMessages(draw.sim(simHead, fossils = fossils))

We can also visualize the fossil ranges if we take away the SampT column, which is used by default if the data frame has it.

# draw longevities with fossil time ranges
suppressMessages(draw.sim(simHead, fossils = fossils[, -3]))

This fossil record’s data frame organization allows for easy evaluation of its components, and is close to ready for use in PyRate, one of the most widely used birth-death rates estimators in the field currently. To make it ready we must manipulate the Extant column, left like this for clarity. In PyRate, that column must be status, with extant species marked extant and extinct species marked extinct.

# make a copy
pFossils <- fossils

# change the extant column
pFossils["Extant"][pFossils["Extant"] == FALSE] = "extant"
pFossils["Extant"][pFossils["Extant"] == TRUE] = "extinct"

# change column names
colnames(pFossils) <- c("Species", "Status", "min_age", "max_age")

# check it out
head(pFossils)
##   Species Status  min_age max_age NA
## 1      t1 extant 49.24482      50 49
## 2      t1 extant 48.06318      49 48
## 3      t1 extant 47.91747      48 47
## 4      t1 extant 47.77767      48 47
## 5      t1 extant 47.34160      48 47
## 6      t1 extant 44.44664      45 44

This data frame could be directly dropped in PyRate for rate estimations.

We can also use RMark or other simpler methods to check estimations. Let us write a quick function applying Foote’s Per Capita method.

per.capita <- function(faBins, laBins, bins) {
  # create vectors to hold species that were born before and die in interval i,
  # species who were born in i and die later,
  # and species who were born before and die later
  NbL <- NFt <- Nbt <- rep(0, length(bins))
  
  # for each interval
  for (i in 1:length(bins)) {
    # number of species that were already around before i and are not seen again
    NbL[i] <- sum(faBins > bins[i] & laBins == bins[i])
    
    # number of species that were first seen in i and are seen later
    NFt[i] <- sum(faBins == bins[i] & laBins < bins[i])
    
    # number of species that were first seen before i and are seen after i
    Nbt[i] <- sum(faBins > bins[i] & laBins < bins[i])
  }
  
  # calculate the total rates
  p <- log((NFt + Nbt) / Nbt)
  q <- log((NbL + Nbt) / Nbt)
  return(list(p = p, q = q))
}

To apply this function, we need to manipulate fossils a little bit

# get the species names
ids <- unique(fossils$Species)

# get the first appearance bins - the first time in bins where the fossil was seen (lower bound)
faBins <- unlist(lapply(ids, function(i) max(fossils$MaxT[fossils$Species == i])))

# get the last appearance bins - last time in bins where the fossil was seen (upper bound)
laBins <- unlist(lapply(ids, function(i) min(fossils$MinT[fossils$Species == i])))

# create the bins vector we have been using
bins <- seq(tMax, 0, -0.1)
# note this has a high resolution, the actual stratigraphic ranges are much coarser

# get the estimates
pc <- per.capita(faBins, laBins, bins)

This method assumes perfect sampling, so it will not be a good estimate, but it is nevertheless a good example of sample.clade use. One could then clean up pc and plot the rates, but for sampling as imperfect as we have here it will not be a good estimate.

Other examples of methods using only the fossil record are Capture-Mark-Recapture (Liow & Nichols 2010) and the Alroy 3-timer (Alroy 2014). One could also use paleobuddy to test methods that integrate fossil records and phylogenies, such as the Fossilized birth-death model (Stadler et al 2010, Heath et al 2014). While a thorough test of these methods is not in the scope of this vignette, we believe to have shown the workflow required for such tests.

paleobuddy’s flexibility

While showing use cases of the package is useful, we should also spend some time detailing the possible customization options in bd.sim and sample.clade.

We have already shown speciation and extinction rates can be any function of time, or constant numbers. Let us check some other possibilities out.

# set a seed
set.seed(2)

# parameters to set things up
n0 <- 1
tMax <- 20

# speciation can be dependent on a time-series variable as well as time
lambda <- function(t, env) {
  0.01 * t + 0.01*exp(0.01*env)
}

# let us use the package's temperature data
data(temp)
# this could instead  be data(co2), the other environmental
# data frame supplied by paleobuddy

# we can make extinction be age-dependent by creating a shape parameter
mu <- 10
mShape <- 0.5
# this will make it so species durations are distributed
# as a Weibull with scale 10 and shape 2

# run the simulation
# we pass the shape and environmental parameters
sim <- suppressMessages(bd.sim(n0, lambda, mu, tMax, 
                               mShape = mShape, envL = temp))
# note that lShape and envM also exist
# the defaults for all of these customization options is NULL

# check out the phylogeny
ape::plot.phylo(make.phylo(sim), show.tip.label = FALSE)
ape::axisPhylo()

So as to avoid repetition, we will not run simulations for the next possibilities, but we will list them

# speciation may be a step function, presented
# as a rates vector and a shift times vector
lList <- c(0.1, 0.2, 0.05)
lShifts <- c(0, 10, 15)
# lShifts could also be c(tMax, tMax - 10, tMax - 15) for identical results

# make.rate is the function bd.sim calls to create a 
# ratem but we will use it here to see how it looks
lambda <- make.rate(lList, tMax = 20, rateShifts = lShifts)
t <- seq(0, 20, 0.1)
plot(t, rev(lambda(t)), type = 'l', main = "Step function speciation rate",
     xlab = "Time (Mya)", ylab = "Speciation rate", xlim = c(20, 0))

# it is not possible to combine the lambda(t, env) and lList methods listed above
# but we can create a step function dependent on environmental data with ifelse
mu_t <- function(t, env) {
  ifelse(t < 10, env,
         ifelse(t < 15, env * 2, env / 2))
}

# pass it to make.rate with environmental data
mu <- make.rate(mu_t, tMax = tMax, envRate = temp)
plot(t, rev(mu(t)), type = 'l', main = "Environmental step function extinction rate",
     xlab = "Time (Mya)", ylab = "Rate", xlim = c(20, 0))

Note all these customization options could serve for a Weibull scale as well, if the user wishes to have age-dependent speciation and/or extinction. The possibility of age-dependency with time-varying rates is, to our knowledge, exclusive to paleobuddy.

# set seed again
set.seed(1)

# age-dependent speciation with a step function
lList <- c(10, 5, 12)
lShifts <- c(0, 10, 15)
lShape <- 2

# age-dependent extinction with a step function of an environmental variable
q <- function(t, env) {
  ifelse(t < 10, 2*env,
         ifelse(t < 15, 1.4*env, env / 2))
}

# note shape can be time-dependent as well, though
# we advise for variation not to be too abrupt due
# to computational issues
mShape <- function(t) {
  return(1.2 + 0.025*t)
}

# run the simulation
sim <- suppressMessages(bd.sim(n0, lList, q, tMax, lShape = lShape, 
                               mShape = mShape, 
                               envM = temp, lShifts = lShifts))

# check out the phylogeny
ape::plot.phylo(make.phylo(sim), show.tip.label = FALSE)

We set this to not run because it takes a long time - both because of the high speciation and because the method of creating a step function rate with shifts and lists takes a long time to integrate. It is however a good illustration of the power of paleobuddys flexibility.

None of the scenarios we have listed here are specific to speciation or extinction - one can mix and match any combination listed here for either rate.

In the case of sampling rates, it is almost the case that any scenario available to speciation/extinction is available to sampling. We do not allow for a shape parameter since the Weibull distribution is not frequently used in the literature for age-dependent sampling. Instead, we allow for the user to supply a probability distribution describing how occurrences are distributed along a species age, as follows

# as an example, we will use a PERT distribution, 
# a hat-shaped distribution used in PyRate

# preservation function
dPERT <- function(t, s, e, sp, a = 3, b = 3, log = FALSE) {

  # check if it is a valid PERT
  if (e >= s) {
    message("There is no PERT with e >= s")
    return(rep(NaN, times = length(t)))
  }

  # find the valid and invalid times
  id1 <- which(t <= e | t >= s)
  id2 <- which(!(t <= e | t >= s))
  t <- t[id2]

  # initialize result vector
  res <- vector()

  # if user wants a log function
  if (log) {
    # invalid times get -Inf
    res[id1] <- -Inf

    # valid times calculated with log
    res[id2] <- log(((s - t) ^ 2)*((-e + t) ^ 2)/((s - e) ^ 5*beta(a,b)))
  }
  
  # otherwise
  else{
    res[id1] <- 0

    res[id2] <- ((s - t) ^ 2)*((-e + t) ^ 2)/((s - e) ^ 5*beta(a,b))
  }

  return(res)
}

# set seed
set.seed(1)

# generate a quick simulation
sim <- bd.sim(n0, lambda = 0.1, mu = 0.05, tMax = 20)

# sample for the first 10 species
fossils <- suppressMessages(sample.clade(sim = sim, rho = 3, 
                                      tMax = 20, adFun = dPERT))
# here we return true times of fossil occurrences

# draw longevities with fossil occurrences
draw.sim(sim, fossils = fossils)

Note how occurrences cluster in the middle of a species’ duration, as expected since the PERT is a hat-shaped distribution.

For more details and examples of age-dependent models, check out ?sample.clade. Even if an adFun argument is supplied for age dependency, the average sampling rate rho may have the same flexibility as speciation and extinction rates in the birth-death functions. We omit examples of other sampling rate options since they are just the same as above, excluding shape parameters.

Conclusion

For completion, we present a final list of the functions of the package

# set a seed 
set.seed(1)

# simple simulation, starting with more than one species
sim <- bd.sim(n0 = 2, lambda = 0.1, mu = 0, tMax = 20, nFinal = c(20, Inf))

# separate the lineages
clades <- find.lineages(sim)

# plot each phylogeny

# clade 1
ape::plot.phylo(make.phylo(clades$clade_1$sim), show.tip.label = FALSE)

# clade 2
ape::plot.phylo(make.phylo(clades$clade_2$sim), show.tip.label = FALSE)

While the package is robust and flexible, it is useful to spend a little time discussing the shortcomings and planned features.

While there are a number of areas where paleobuddy can improve, it is clear that the package presents unprecedented flexibility on diversification, fossil record, and phylogeny generation. It will therefore be an impactful tool in the exploration of complex evolutionary scenarios.

These binaries (installable software) and packages are in development.
They may not be fully stable and should be used with caution. We make no claims about them.