| 1. |
- de Raad, Jordi, et al.
(författare)
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Speciation and population divergence in a mutualistic seed dispersing bird
- 2022
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bird-mediated seed dispersal is crucial for the regeneration and viability of ecosystems, often resulting in complex mutualistic species networks. Yet, how this mutualism drives the evolution of seed dispersing birds is still poorly understood. In the present study we combine whole genome re-sequencing analyses and morphometric data to assess the evolutionary processes that shaped the diversification of the Eurasian nutcracker (Nucifraga), a seed disperser known for its mutualism with pines (Pinus). Our results show that the divergence and phylogeographic patterns of nutcrackers resemble those of other non-mutualistic passerine birds and suggest that their early diversification was shaped by similar biogeographic and climatic processes. The limited variation in foraging traits indicates that local adaptation to pines likely played a minor role. Our study shows that close mutualistic relationships between bird and plant species might not necessarily act as a primary driver of evolution and diversification in resource-specialized birds.
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| 2. |
- Needham, Jessica F., et al.
(författare)
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Demographic composition, not demographic diversity, predicts biomass and turnover across temperate and tropical forests
- 2022
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 28, s. 2895-2909
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The growth and survival of individual trees determine the physical structure of a forest with important consequences for forest function. However, given the diversity of tree species and forest biomes, quantifying the multitude of demographic strategies within and across forests and the way that they translate into forest structure and function remains a significant challenge. Here, we quantify the demographic rates of 1961 tree species from temperate and tropical forests and evaluate how demographic diversity (DD) and demographic composition (DC) differ across forests, and how these differences in demography relate to species richness, aboveground biomass (AGB), and carbon residence time. We find wide variation in DD and DC across forest plots, patterns that are not explained by species richness or climate variables alone. There is no evidence that DD has an effect on either AGB or carbon residence time. Rather, the DC of forests, specifically the relative abundance of large statured species, predicted both biomass and carbon residence time. Our results demonstrate the distinct DCs of globally distributed forests, reflecting biogeography, recent history, and current plot conditions. Linking the DC of forests to resilience or vulnerability to climate change, will improve the precision and accuracy of predictions of future forest composition, structure, and function.
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| 3. |
- Song, Kai, 1988-, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic differentiation in Sichuan jay (Perisoreus internigrans) and itssibling species Siberian jay (P. infaustus)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Conservation Genetics. - : Springer Nature. - 1566-0621 .- 1572-9737. ; 21:2, s. 319-327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Pleistocene ice age and recent forest fragmentation have both played a significant role in shaping the population geneticvariation of boreal coniferous species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and Eurasian coniferous forests. The Sichuan jay isone of the least know endemic bird species in QTP coniferous forests in western China while its sibling species, the SiberianJay, is widespread within the coniferous forests in northern Eurasia. Here we used 11 microsatellite markers to assay geneticdiversity across 58 Sichuan jay samples from China and 205 Siberian jay samples from Sweden and Russia. Results showedthree distinct genetic clusters from the Sichuan jay sampling. Furthermore, the pair-wise FST values indicated high geneticdifferentiation not only among the two species but also between Swedish and Russian Siberian jay populations. What ismore, a pattern of isolation by distance was found among the analyzed populations. Our study suggests that targeted
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| 4. |
- Wu, Lei, et al.
(författare)
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Limited Song Mixing Without Genomic Gene Flow in a Contact Zone Between Two Songbird Species
- 2023
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Ingår i: Molecular biology and evolution. - : Oxford University Press. - 0737-4038 .- 1537-1719. ; 40:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Song is considered to play an important role in the maintenance of prezygotic reproductive isolation between closely related songbird species. Therefore, song mixing in a contact zone between closely related species is often considered as evidence of hybridization. The Sichuan Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus forresti and the Gansu Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus kansuensis, which diverged 2 million years ago, have formed a contact zone in the south of the Gansu Province of China, where mixed songs have been observed. In this study, we investigated the potential causes and consequences of song mixing by integrating bioacoustic, morphological, mitochondrial, and genomic data with field ecological observations. We found that the two species display no apparent morphological differences, whereas their songs differ dramatically. We demonstrated that ∼11% of the males in the contact zone sang mixed songs. Two males singing mixed song were genotyped, and both were found to be P. kansuensis. Despite the presence of mixed singers, population genomic analyses detected no signs of recent gene flow between the two species, although two possible cases of mitochondrial introgression were identified. We conclude that the rather limited song mixing does not lead to, or result from, hybridization, and hence does not result in the breakdown of reproductive barriers between these cryptic species.
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