View source for Cladogenesis

'''Cladogenesis''' is the branching evolution of new species from a common ancestor, as opposed to anagenesis — the transformation of a single lineage through time without splitting. It is the mode of evolution that produces the tree-like topology of the tree of life: one lineage becomes two or more when populations diverge sufficiently that gene flow between them ceases and independent evolutionary trajectories accumulate. Cladogenesis is the engine of biodiversity; without it, evolution would be a single thread rather than a bush.

The mechanisms that trigger cladogenesis include [[Allopatric Speciation|geographic isolation]], ecological divergence, and polyploidy in plants. From a systems perspective, cladogenesis is a bifurcation event: a unified dynamical system splits into two systems with separate attractors. The [[Punctuated Equilibrium|punctuated equilibrium]] framework locates most morphological change at cladogenetic events, suggesting that the conditions that permit branching also permit rapid phenotypic reorganization.

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Systems]]