The ghost of connections past: A role for mainland vicariance in the isolation of an insular population of the red‐billed chough (Aves: Corvidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 2567-2583
Author(s):  
Francisco Morinha ◽  
Borja Milá ◽  
José A. Dávila ◽  
Juan A. Fargallo ◽  
Jaime Potti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insular Population

scholarly journals Multiple losses of flight and recent speciation in steamer ducks

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1737) ◽  
pp. 2339-2346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara L. Fulton ◽  
Brandon Letts ◽  
Beth Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Falkland Islands ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Duck Species ◽  
Traditional Classification ◽  
Distinct Lineage ◽  
Insular Population ◽  
Glacial Advance

Steamer ducks ( Tachyeres ) comprise four species, three of which are flightless. The flightless species are believed to have diverged from a flying common ancestor during the Late Pleistocene; however, their taxonomy remains contentious. Of particular interest is the previously unstudied population of flying steamer ducks in the Falkland Islands. We present the first genetic data from this insular population, and illustrate that the flying and flightless steamer ducks on the Falkland Islands are genetically indistinguishable, in contrast to their traditional classification as separate species. The three species that reside in continental South America form a genetically distinct lineage from the Falkland Island ducks. The Falkland steamer ducks diverged from their continental relatives 2.2–0.6 million years ago, coincident with a probable land bridge connecting the Falkland Islands to the mainland. The three continental species share a common ancestor approximately 15 000 years ago, possibly owing to isolation during a recent glacial advance. The continental steamer duck species are not reciprocally monophyletic, but show some amount of genetic differentiation between them. Each lineage of Tachyeres represents a different stage between flight and flightlessness. Their phylogenetic relationships suggest multiple losses of flight and/or long-term persistence of mixed-flight capability. As such, steamer ducks may provide a model system to study the evolution of flightlessness.

Origin, extinction and ancient DNA of a new fossil insular viper: molecular clues of overseas immigration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enric Torres-Roig ◽  
Kieren J Mitchell ◽  
Josep Antoni Alcover ◽  
Fernando Martínez-Freiría ◽  
Salvador Bailón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Complete Mitochondrial Genome ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
North East ◽  
Iberian Population ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Insular Population

Abstract Viperinae is a subfamily of viperid snakes whose fossil record in the Mediterranean islands is, until now, restricted to 12 palaeontological deposits on seven islands. Revision of the material excavated 30 years ago from the Middle/Late Pleistocene–Holocene deposit of Es Pouàs [Eivissa (= Ibiza), Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean] revealed about 6000 bones of a small-sized viper across different stratigraphic levels. Its morphological characteristics are different enough to known species of Vipera to warrant the description of a new species, but the nearly complete mitochondrial genome obtained from this snake based on a sample dated to 16 130 ± 45 bp, suggested it belonged to a new insular population of Lataste’s viper (Vipera latastei), Vipera latastei ebusitana subsp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the dispersal of the ancestors of V. l. ebusitana to Eivissa, most probably from a north-east Iberian population, occurred via overwater colonization < 1.5 Mya, well after the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97–5.32 Mya) when land bridges allowed terrestrial colonization of the Balearic Islands by mainland faunas. The morphological differences between V. l. ebusitana and the Iberian populations suggest that it is a new dwarf taxon resulting from insular evolutionary processes, becoming extinct shortly after the first human arrival to this island about 4000 years ago.

Aggression, superterritories, and reproductive success in tree swallows

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 2072-2078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reid N. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Nestling Growth ◽  
Territorial Aggression ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Nestling Period ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insular Population

The relationship between territorial aggression and reproductive success was studied on a well-established, insular population of tree swallows. Four treatments of nest boxes that differed in interbox distances were created. Short interbox distances significantly reduced the occupancy of nest boxes both between and within years. Swallows in short interbox distance treatments defended more than one nest box, which was an additional resource not necessary for their successful reproduction. Excluded potential breeders attempted to colonize vacant boxes within another swallow's territory throughout the nestling period, but were usually prevented by the aggression of the resident pair. Aggressive activity had no direct effect on three measures of a swallow's reproductive output: percent young fledged, nestling growth, and fledgling weights. The concept of intraspecific aggressive neglect is questioned. However, by excluding potential breeders from nesting, for whatever reason, breeding tree swallows increased their relative genetic contribution to future generations.

scholarly journals The eagle owl Bubo bubo (Aves: Strigidae) in the Eastern Adriatic (Croatia): the study case of a high-density insular population

2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Barišić ◽  
V. Tutiš ◽  
D. Ćiković ◽  
J. Kralj ◽  
Z. Ružanović
Keyword(s):  
High Density ◽  
Bubo Bubo ◽  
Eagle Owl ◽  
Study Case ◽  
Insular Population

Founder effect and bottleneck signatures in an introduced, insular population of elk

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris J. Hundertmark ◽  
Larry J. Van Daele
Keyword(s):  
Founder Effect ◽  
Insular Population
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document