Phylogenetic relationships, biogeography and speciation in the avian genus Saxicola

Illera, Juan Carlos; Richardson, David S.; Helm, Barbara; Atienza, Juan Carlos; Emerson, Brent C.

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.016

Cited by 51 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…As the relationship of photoperiod to environmental conditions is variable, a need to readjust daylength responses may be common. For instance, stonechats in most parts of Europe breed under increasing spring daylength whereas closely related Canary Island stonechats breed in winter, sometimes under still decreasing daylength (Illera and Diaz, 2006;Illera et al, 2008). Furthermore, photoperiod times different seasonal functions, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study examines reproductive and moult cycles in European and Siberian stonechats. The closely related taxa (Cramp and Simmons, 1988;Illera et al, 2008) breed at similar latitudes but differ in seasonal behaviour and migratory habit (Raess and Gwinner, 2005;Helm et al, 2006a;Flinks et al, 2008;Raess, 2008). Central European stonechats (S. t. rubicola) are short-distance migrants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Circannual basis of geographically distinct bird schedules

Helm

Schwabl

Gwinner

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most environments are to some extent seasonal. Their inhabitants time annual activities like reproduction, germination, pupation, moult, hibernation or migration to match the changing seasons and often anticipate conducive conditions well in advance. Seasonal activities must be accurately timed because mismatches with the environment can have severe fitness consequences; however, the particular timing differs considerably with species ecology, environmental seasonality and year-to-year conditions (Lack, 1950;Bradshaw and Holzapfel, 2007;Newton, 2008;Foster and Kreitzman, 2009). Understanding the intricacies of timing has become of urgent interest in view of the disconcerting rate of global change and its implications for seasonality (Bradshaw and Holzapfel, 2006;Bradshaw and Holzapfel, 2007;Visser, 2008). Birds, as a highly visible group, are regarded as sentinels of change and their scheduling is particularly well documented (e.g. Jonzén et al., 2007;McNamara and Houston, 2008;Wingfield et al., 2008).Avian itineraries differ between species in a given habitat and often also within species, depending on geographical location. With increasing latitude, birds generally have shorter reproductive periods, breed later and moult faster than at lower latitudes. Schedules also differ between habitats at given latitudes, e.g. associated with altitude, urbanisation and climatic gradients (Baker, 1938;Lack, 1950;Curry-Lindhal, 1963;Klein, 1974;Murton and Westwood, 1977;Widmer, 1998;Partecke et al., 2004;Perfito et al., 2004;Moore et al., 2005;Partecke et al., 2005;Newton, 2008). Hence, closely related taxa and populations may show distinct timing.The basis of these distinct schedules is still largely unclear. In general, timing involves an inherited background mechanism that provides a temporal framework. It buffers organisms from misleading information, e.g. warm spells in winter, while integrating reliable, predictive, temporal cues -predominantly photoperiod (i.e. the light fraction of the day) (Murton and Westwood, 1977;Gwinner, 1986;Prendergast et al., 2002;Bradshaw and Holzapfel, 2007). Within this framework, schedules may be further modified by environmental conditions, for instance, temperature or food availability (Wingfield, 1980;Hahn et al., 1992;Hahn et al., 1997;Dawson, 2008). The resulting compromise between rigid preprogrammed timing and environmental flexibility should accommodate the requirements of a given species in its given habitat.Geographical differences could therefore arise from phenotypic plasticity in response to local conditions (Perfito et al., 2004;Dawson, 2008;Hahn and MacDougall-Shackleton, 2008). Yet direct environmental control is an insufficient explanation for the scheduling of most seasonal species studied so far. Timing in captivity approximated timing in the wild (Davies et al., 1969;König and Gwinner, 1995;Lambrechts et al., 1997;Lambrechts et al., 1999;Partecke et al., 2004) [but see Perfito et al. (Perfito et al., 2004;Perfito et al., 2008)], indicating the presence of internal tim...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circannual basis of geographically distinct bird schedules

Helm

Schwabl

Gwinner

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We studied stonechats from three different populations belonging to three different subspecies, from Europe (Austria, Saxicola torquata rubicola), Africa (Kenya, Saxicola torquata axillaris) and Asia (Kazakhstan, Saxicola torquata maura), in addition to European-African hybrids and European-Asian hybrids. The phylogenetic relationships among these populations and subspecies have been described in detail in Illera et al (2008). Although our birds came from geographically separate locations, they produce fertile hybrids when interbreeding in captivity.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic modulation of energy metabolism in birds through mitochondrial function

et al. 2009

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite their central importance for the evolution of physiological variation, the genetic mechanisms that determine energy expenditure in animals have largely remained unstudied. We used quantitative genetics to confirm that both mass-specific and whole-organism basal metabolic rate (BMR) were heritable in a captive-bred population of stonechats (Saxicola torquata spp.) founded on birds from three wild populations (Europe, Africa and Asia) that differed in BMR. This argues that BMR is at least partially under genetic control by multiple unknown nuclear loci each with a limited effect on the phenotype. We then tested for a genetic effect on BMR based on mitochondrial-nuclear coadaptation using hybrids between ancestral populations with high and low BMR (Europe-Africa and Asia-Europe), with different parental configurations (female high -male low or female low -male high ) within each combination of populations. Hybrids with different parental configurations have on average identical mixtures of nuclear DNA, but differ in mitochondrial DNA because it is inherited only from the mother. Mass-specific BMR differed between hybrids with different parental configurations, implying that the combination of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA affected metabolic rate. Therefore, our findings implicate mitochondrial function as an important regulator of energy metabolism. In combination with the substantial heritabilities of metabolic rate, and corroborated by genetic differences in the mitochondrial genome, these results set the stage for further investigations of a genetic control mechanism involving both mitochondrial and nuclear genes determining metabolic rate at the whole-organism level.

show abstract

“…Additionally, we studied hybrids between Kazakh and European stonechats, and between European and Kenyan stonechats. The phylogenetic relationships among these genotypic groups have been described in detail previously (Illera et al, 2008;Zink et al, 2009). Differences in life history traits (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and phenotypically flexible components of seasonal variation in immune function

Versteegh

Helm

Kleynhans

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animals cope with seasonal variation in environmental factors by adjustments of physiology and life history. When seasonal variation is partly predictable, such adjustments can be based on a genetic component or be phenotypically flexible. Animals have to allocate limited resources over different demands, including immune function. Accordingly, immune traits could change seasonally, and such changes could have a genetic component that differs between environments. We tested this hypothesis in genotypically distinct groups of a widespread songbird, the stonechat (Saxicola torquata). We compared variation in immunity during 1 year in long-distance migrants, short-distance migrants, tropical residents and hybrids in a common garden environment. Additionally, we investigated phenotypically flexible responses to temperature by applying different temperature regimes to one group. We assessed constitutive immunity by measuring hemagglutination, hemolysis, haptoglobin and bactericidal ability against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Genotypic groups differed in patterns of variation of all measured immune indices except haptoglobin. Hybrids differed from, but were rarely intermediate to, parental subspecies. Temperature treatment only influenced patterns of hemolysis and bactericidal ability against E. coli. We conclude that seasonal variation in constitutive immunity has a genetic component, that heredity does not follow simple Mendelian rules, and that some immune measures are relatively rigid while others are more flexible. Furthermore, our results support the idea that seasonal variability in constitutive immunity is associated with variability in environment and annualcycle demands. This study stresses the importance of considering seasonal variation in immune function in relation to the ecology and life history of the organism of interest.

show abstract

Phylogenetic relationships, biogeography and speciation in the avian genus Saxicola

Cited by 51 publications

References 32 publications

Circannual basis of geographically distinct bird schedules

Circannual basis of geographically distinct bird schedules

Genetic modulation of energy metabolism in birds through mitochondrial function

Genetic and phenotypically flexible components of seasonal variation in immune function

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About