Cox, SC;
Prys-Jones, RP;
Habel, JC;
Amakobe, BA;
Day, JJ;
(2014)
Niche divergence promotes rapid diversification of East African sky island white-eyes (Aves: Zosteropidae).
Molecular Ecology
, 23
(16)
4103 - 4118.
10.1111/mec.12840.
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Abstract
The Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot composed of highly fragmented forested highlands (sky islands) harbours exceptional diversity and endemicity, particularly within birds. To explain their elevated diversity within this region, models founded on niche conservatism have been offered, although detailed phylogeographic studies are limited to a few avian lineages. Here, we focus on the recent songbird genus Zosterops, represented by montane and lowland members, to test the roles of niche conservatism versus niche divergence in the diversification and colonization of East Africa's sky islands. The species-rich white-eyes are a typically homogeneous family with an exceptional colonizing ability, but in contrast to their diversity on oceanic islands, continental diversity is considered depauperate and has been largely neglected. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of ~140 taxa reveals extensive polyphyly among different montane populations of Z. poliogastrus. These larger endemic birds are shown to be more closely related to taxa with divergent habitat types, altitudinal distributions and dispersal abilities than they are to populations of restricted endemics that occur in neighbouring montane forest fragments. This repeated transition between lowland and highland habitats over time demonstrate that diversification of the focal group is explained by niche divergence. Our results also highlight an underestimation of diversity compared to morphological studies that has implications for their taxonomy and conservation. Molecular dating suggests that the spatially extensive African radiation arose exceptionally rapidly (1–2.5 Ma) during the fluctuating Plio-Pleistocene climate, which may have provided the primary driver for lineage diversification.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | Niche divergence promotes rapid diversification of East African sky island white-eyes (Aves: Zosteropidae) |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1111/mec.12840 |
Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.12840 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | © 2014 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1447930 |
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