A New Species of Akalat (Sheppardia) Narrowly Endemic in the Eastern Arc of Tanzania

Beresford, Pamela; Fjeldså, Jon; Kiure, Jacob

doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0023:ansoas]2.0.co;2

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The recognition of new taxa in sub-Saharan Africa is uncommon relative to other areas around the globe (e.g. South America, Indonesia; Fjeldså 2013) and most new African taxa have come from the Lower Guinean Forest Block (Beresford et al 1999;Schmidt et al 2008) or the mountains of eastern and central Africa (Jensen 1983;Dinesen et al 1994;Fjeldså & Kiure 2003;Beresford et al 2004;Bowie & Fjeldså 2005;Fjeldså et al 2006;Bowie et al 2009Bowie et al , 2016Voelker et al 2010Voelker et al , 2017. All these cases underscore the need for continued collecting of voucher specimens in sub-Saharan Africa (Bates et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomic revision of the Square-tailed Drongo species complex (Passeriformes: Dicruridae) with description of a new species from western Africa

Fuchs

Douno²,

Bowie

et al. 2018

Zootaxa

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We describe a new species of drongo in the Square-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus ludwigii) complex using a combination of biometric and genetic data. The new species differs from previously described taxa in the Square-tailed Drongo complex by possessing a significantly heavier bill and via substantial genetic divergence (6.7%) from its sister-species D. sharpei. The new species is distributed across the gallery forests of coastal Guinea, extending to the Niger and Benue Rivers of Nigeria. We suspect that this taxon was overlooked by previous avian systematists because they either lacked comparative material from western Africa or because the key diagnostic morphological character (bill characteristics) was not measured. We provide an updated taxonomy of the Square-tailed Drongo species complex.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomic revision of the Square-tailed Drongo species complex (Passeriformes: Dicruridae) with description of a new species from western Africa

Fuchs

Douno²,

Bowie

et al. 2018

Zootaxa

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“…This seems to be quite a general phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa, where phylogeographical patterns are still poorly understood. Indeed, wherever they are undertaken, molecular phylogenetic studies tend to reveal a more complex biogeographic history than previously recognized, and lead to the recognition of new species (Eastern Arc Mountains [ 80 ]; Congo Basin forests [ 81 ]; SW Africa [ 82 ]). Such findings may have fundamental evolutionary implications for the understanding of large-scale speciation processes, but also for conservation strategies [ 83 ] (but see [ 84 ]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-driven diversification in two widespread Galerida larks

2008

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BackgroundThe major impact of Plio-Pleistocene climatic oscillations on the current genetic structure of many species is widely recognised but their importance in driving speciation remains a matter of controversies. In addition, since most studies focused on Europe and North America, the influence of many other biogeographic barriers such as the Sahara remains poorly understood. In this paper, climate-driven diversification was investigated by using a comparative phylogeographic approach in combination with phenotypic data in two avian species groups distributed on both sides of the deserts belt of Africa and Asia. In particular, we tested whether: 1) vicariance diversification events are concomitant with past climatic events; and 2) current ecological factors (using climate and competition as proxies) contribute to phenotypic divergence between allopatric populations.ResultsMitochondrial and nuclear sequence data indicated that the crested and Thekla lark species groups diverged in the early Pliocene and that subsequent speciation events were congruent with major late Pliocene and Pleistocene climatic events. In particular, steep increase in aridity in Africa near 2.8 and 1.7 million years ago were coincident with two north-south vicariance speciation events mediated by the Sahara. Subsequent glacial cycles of the last million years seem to have shaped patterns of genetic variation within the two widespread species (G. cristata and G. theklae). The Sahara appears to have allowed dispersal from the tropical areas during climatic optima but to have isolated populations north and south of it during more arid phases. Phenotypic variation did not correlate with the history of populations, but was strongly influenced by current ecological conditions. In particular, our results suggested that (i) desert-adapted plumage evolved at least three times and (ii) variation in body size was mainly driven by interspecific competition, but the response to competition was stronger in more arid areas.ConclusionClimatic fluctuations of the Plio-Pleistocene strongly impacted diversification patterns in the Galerida larks. Firstly, we found that cladogenesis coincides with major climatic changes, and the Sahara appears to have played a key role in driving speciation events. Secondly, we found that morphology and plumage were strongly determined by ecological factors (interspecific competition, climate) following vicariance.

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“…This group has had a taxonomically turbulent history (see, e.g., Irwin & Clancey, 1974; Beresford, 2003), and has increased in species number due to several recent discoveries (e.g. Beresford & Cracraft, 1999; Beresford et al. , 2004; Schmidt et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Included in our sampling of the FRA were most species ascribed to the genera Cossypha (12/15), Sheppardia (9/9), Pseudalethe (4/4; see Beresford, 2003), Erithacus (2/3), Pogonocichla (1/1), Stiphrornis (1/1), Swynnertonia (1/1) and Xenocopsychus (1/1) by Sibley & Monroe (1990). We also included Sheppardia aurantiithorax (Beresford et al. , 2004), Sheppardia usambarae (often separated from Sheppardia sharpei ), and Stiphrornis sanghensis (Beresford & Cracraft, 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pliocene forest dynamics as a primary driver of African bird speciation

Voelker

Outlaw

Bowie

2009

Global Ecology and Biogeography

104

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Aim Montane tropics are areas of high endemism, and mechanisms driving this endemism have been receiving increasing attention at a global scale. A general trend is that climatic factors do not explain the species richness of species with small to medium-sized geographic ranges, suggesting that geological and evolutionary processes must be considered. On the African continent, several hypotheses including both refugial and geographic uplift models have been advanced to explain avian speciation and diversity in the lowland forest and montane regions of central and eastern Africa; montane regions in particular are recognized as hotspots of vertebrate endemism. Here, we examine the possible role of these models in driving speciation in a clade of African forest robins. Location Africa.Methods We constructed the first robustly supported molecular phylogenetic hypothesis of forest robins. On this phylogeny, we reconstructed habitat-based distributions and geographic distributions relative to the Albertine Rift. We also estimated the timing of lineage divergences via a molecular clock. ResultsRobust estimates of phylogenetic relationships and clock-based divergences reject Miocene tectonic uplift and Pleistocene forest refugia as primary drivers of speciation in forest robins. Instead, our data suggest that most forest robin speciation took place in the Late Pliocene, from 3.2 to 2.2 Ma. Distributional patterns are complex, with the Albertine Rift region serving as a general east-west break across the group. Montane distributions are inferred to have evolved four times.Main conclusions Phylogenetic divergence dates coincide with a single period of lowland forest retraction in the late Pliocene, suggesting that most montane speciation resulted from the rapid isolation of populations in montane areas, rather than montane areas themselves being drivers of speciation. This conclusion provides additional evidence that Pliocene climate change was a major driver of speciation in broadly distributed African animal lineages. We further show that lowland forest robins are no older than their montane relatives, suggesting that lowland areas are not museums which house 'ancient' taxa; rather, for forest robins, montane areas should be viewed as living museums of a late Pliocene diversification event. A forest refugial pattern is operating in Africa, but it is not constrained to the Pleistocene.

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A New Species of Akalat (Sheppardia) Narrowly Endemic in the Eastern Arc of Tanzania

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 publications

Taxonomic revision of the Square-tailed Drongo species complex (Passeriformes: Dicruridae) with description of a new species from western Africa

Taxonomic revision of the Square-tailed Drongo species complex (Passeriformes: Dicruridae) with description of a new species from western Africa

Climate-driven diversification in two widespread Galerida larks

Pliocene forest dynamics as a primary driver of African bird speciation

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