Biologists have long searched for mechanisms responsible for the increase in species
richness with decreasing latitude. The strong correlation between species richness and
climate is frequently interpreted as reflecting a causal link via processes linked to energy or
evolutionary rates. Here, we investigate how the aggregation of clades, as dictated by
phylogeny, can give rise to significant climate–richness gradients without gradients in
diversification or environmental carrying capacity. The relationship between climate and …