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- Alerstam, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Flight speeds among bird species : allometric and phylogenetic effects.
- 2007
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In: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1544-9173 .- 1545-7885. ; 5:8, s. e197-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Flight speed is expected to increase with mass and wing loading among flying animals and aircraft for fundamental aerodynamic reasons. Assuming geometrical and dynamical similarity, cruising flight speed is predicted to vary as (body mass)(1/6) and (wing loading)(1/2) among bird species. To test these scaling rules and the general importance of mass and wing loading for bird flight speeds, we used tracking radar to measure flapping flight speeds of individuals or flocks of migrating birds visually identified to species as well as their altitude and winds at the altitudes where the birds were flying. Equivalent airspeeds (airspeeds corrected to sea level air density, Ue) of 138 species, ranging 0.01-10 kg in mass, were analysed in relation to biometry and phylogeny. Scaling exponents in relation to mass and wing loading were significantly smaller than predicted (about 0.12 and 0.32, respectively, with similar results for analyses based on species and independent phylogenetic contrasts). These low scaling exponents may be the result of evolutionary restrictions on bird flight-speed range, counteracting too slow flight speeds among species with low wing loading and too fast speeds among species with high wing loading. This compression of speed range is partly attained through geometric differences, with aspect ratio showing a positive relationship with body mass and wing loading, but additional factors are required to fully explain the small scaling exponent of Ue in relation to wing loading. Furthermore, mass and wing loading accounted for only a limited proportion of the variation in Ue. Phylogeny was a powerful factor, in combination with wing loading, to account for the variation in Ue. These results demonstrate that functional flight adaptations and constraints associated with different evolutionary lineages have an important influence on cruising flapping flight speed that goes beyond the general aerodynamic scaling effects of mass and wing loading.
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| 2. |
- Aliabadian, Mansour, et al.
(author)
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Convergent evolution of morphological and ecological traits in the open-habitat chat complex (Aves, Muscicapidae : Saxicolinae).
- 2012
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In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 65:1, s. 35-45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Open-habitat chats (genera Myrmecocichla, Cercomela, Oenanthe and relative) are a morphologically and ecologically cohesive group of genera with unclear phylogenetic relationships. They are distributed mostly in open, arid and/or rocky habitats of Africa and Eurasia. Here, we present the most comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of this group to date, with a complete taxon sampling at the species level. The analysis, based on a multilocus dataset including three mitochondrial and three nuclear loci, allows us to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships and test the traditional generic limits. All genera are non-monophyletic, suggesting extensive convergence on similar plumage patterns in unrelated species. While the colour pattern appear to be a poor predictor of the phylogenetic relationships, some of the ecological and behavioural traits agree relatively well with the major clades. Following our results, we also propose a revised generic classification for the whole group.
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| 6. |
- Alström, Per, et al.
(author)
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Dramatic niche shifts and morphological change in two insular bird species
- 2015
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In: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Colonizations of islands are often associated with rapid morphological divergence. We present two previously unrecognized cases of dramatic morphological change and niche shifts in connection with colonization of tropical forest-covered islands. These evolutionary changes have concealed the fact that the passerine birds madanga, Madanga ruficollis, from Buru, Indonesia, and São Tomé shorttail, Amaurocichla bocagii, from São Tomé, Gulf of Guinea, are forest-adapted members of the family Motacillidae (pipits and wagtails). We show that Madanga has diverged mainly in plumage, which may be the result of selection for improved camouflage in its new arboreal niche, while selection pressures for other morphological changes have probably been weak owing to preadaptations for the novel niche. By contrast, we suggest that Amaurocichla's niche change has led to divergence in both structure and plumage.
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| 7. |
- Alström, Per, et al.
(author)
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Multilocus analysis of a taxonomically densely sampled dataset reveal extensive non-monophyly in the avian family Locustellidae.
- 2011
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In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 58:3, s. 513-26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The phylogeny of most of the species in the avian passerine family Locustellidae is inferred using a Bayesian species tree approach (Bayesian Estimation of Species Trees, BEST), as well as a traditional Bayesian gene tree method (MrBayes), based on a dataset comprising one mitochondrial and four nuclear loci. The trees inferred by the different methods agree fairly well in topology, although in a few cases there are marked differences. Some of these discrepancies might be due to convergence problems for BEST (despite up to 1×10(9) iterations). The phylogeny strongly disagrees with the current taxonomy at the generic level, and we propose a revised classification that recognizes four instead of seven genera. These results emphasize the well known but still often neglected problem of basing classifications on non-cladistic evaluations of morphological characters. An analysis of an extended mitochondrial dataset with multiple individuals from most species, including many subspecies, suggest that several taxa presently treated as subspecies or as monotypic species as well as a few taxa recognized as separate species are in need of further taxonomic work.
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| 8. |
- Alström, Per, et al.
(author)
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Non-monophyly and intricate morphological evolution within the avian family Cettiidae revealed by multilocus analysis of a taxonomically densely sampled dataset.
- 2011
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In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 11, s. 352-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The avian family Cettiidae, including the genera Cettia, Urosphena, Tesia, Abroscopus and Tickellia and Orthotomus cucullatus, has recently been proposed based on analysis of a small number of loci and species. The close relationship of most of these taxa was unexpected, and called for a comprehensive study based on multiple loci and dense taxon sampling. In the present study, we infer the relationships of all except one of the species in this family using one mitochondrial and three nuclear loci. We use traditional gene tree methods (Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood bootstrapping, parsimony bootstrapping), as well as a recently developed Bayesian species tree approach (*BEAST) that accounts for lineage sorting processes that might produce discordance between gene trees. We also analyse mitochondrial DNA for a larger sample, comprising multiple individuals and a large number of subspecies of polytypic species.RESULTS: There are many topological incongruences among the single-locus trees, although none of these is strongly supported. The multi-locus tree inferred using concatenated sequences and the species tree agree well with each other, and are overall well resolved and well supported by the data. The main discrepancy between these trees concerns the most basal split. Both methods infer the genus Cettia to be highly non-monophyletic, as it is scattered across the entire family tree. Deep intraspecific divergences are revealed, and one or two species and one subspecies are inferred to be non-monophyletic (differences between methods).CONCLUSIONS: The molecular phylogeny presented here is strongly inconsistent with the traditional, morphology-based classification. The remarkably high degree of non-monophyly in the genus Cettia is likely to be one of the most extraordinary examples of misconceived relationships in an avian genus. The phylogeny suggests instances of parallel evolution, as well as highly unequal rates of morphological divergence in different lineages. This complex morphological evolution apparently misled earlier taxonomists. These results underscore the well-known but still often neglected problem of basing classifications on overall morphological similarity. Based on the molecular data, a revised taxonomy is proposed. Although the traditional and species tree methods inferred much the same tree in the present study, the assumption by species tree methods that all species are monophyletic is a limitation in these methods, as some currently recognized species might have more complex histories.
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| 9. |
- Alström, Per, Professor, et al.
(author)
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Phylogeny and classification of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea
- 2006
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In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - Swedish Museum Nat Hist, Dept Vertebrate Zool, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Museum Nat Hist, Mol Systemat Lab, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden. Uppsala Univ, Evolutionary Biol Ctr, Dept Systemat Zool, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden. Univ Gothenburg, Dept Zool, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 38:2, s. 381-397
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sylvioidea is one of the three superfamilies recognized within the largest avian radiation, the parvorder Passerida. In the present study, which is the first taxon-dense analysis of the Sylvioidea based on sequence data (nuclear myoglobin intron II and mitochondrial cytochrome b gene), we investigate the interrelationships among the four "sylvioid" clades found by previous workers, as well as the relationships within the largest of these clades. The nuclear and mitochondrial loci estimate basically the same phylogeny, with minor differences in resolution. The trees based on myoglobin and the combined data identify a strongly supported clade that includes the taxa previously allocated to Sylvioidea, except for Sitta (nuthatches), Certhia (treecreepers), Parus (tits), Remiz (penduline tits), Troglodytes and Campylorhynchus (wrens), Polioptila (gnatcatchers), and Regulus (crests/kinglets); this clade also comprises larks, which have previously been placed in the superfamily Passeroidea. We refer to this clade as Sylvioidea. This clade is further divided into 10 main, well-supported clades, which we suggest form the basis for a revised classification. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Bachmann, L., et al.
(author)
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Systematics and biodiversity research in the era of genomics
- 2016
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In: Zoologica Scripta. - : Wiley. - 0300-3256 .- 1463-6409. ; 45, s. 3-4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On 5 November 2015, The Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters (DNVA) and the editors of the Zoologica Scripta invited to the one-day symposium ‘Systematics and Biodiversity Research in the Era of Genomics’. Some 80 scientists gathered at the premises of the DNVA in Oslo, Norway, to explore and discuss the current trends and future developments in the field of Animal Systematics. © 2016 The Authors. Zoologica Scripta published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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