Phylogeny and Biogeography of Dabbling Ducks (Genus: Anas): A Comparison of Molecular and Morphological Evidence

Abstract

We constructed a phylogeny for the dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini) based on cytochrome-b and ND2 mitochondrial gene DNA sequences. This phylogeny differed in several important respects from a morphological phylogeny developed by Livezey (1991), including the distinctiveness of the blue-winged ducks from other dabbling ducks, the inclusion of the genus Tachyeres and exclusion of Callonetta from the subtribe Anateae, and the lack of support for Mareca as a genus separate from Anas. Characters from three other data sets showed greater consistency with the molecular topology than with the morphological topology. The molecular phylogeny divides the dabbling ducks into four distinct groups: (1) four South American genera, including Amazonetta, Lophonetta, Speculanas, and Tachyeres; (2) the Baikal Teal (Anas formosa); (3) the blue-winged ducks and allies; and (4) a large clade including wigeons, pintails, mallards, and several teal lineages. An examination of the distributions of species in light of the phylogeny indicates relatively little biogeographic structure. Geographic origin for most internal branches is ambiguous using several reconstruction methods. We suggest that the high dispersal ability of birds (especially dabbling ducks) has important implications for recovery of branches using molecular systematics.

Phylogeography: its development and impact in Australo-Papuan ornithology with special reference to paraphyly in Australian birds

“…In fact, Mallard mtDNA is paraphyletic with mtDNA of several Anas species including the Pacific Black Duck (A. superciliosa). Mallards on a London pond could have mtDNA more closely related to that of a Pacific Black Duck in Sydney than to that of others on that same London pond (see Omland 1997;Johnson and Sorenson 1999). However, as sample sizes increased, patterns emerged showing mtDNAs of closely related species often to be paraphyletic not reciprocally monophyletic.…”

An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of the World

“…Ptilopachus is outside Phasianidae, as sister group to Odontophoridae; Alectura is nested within Aepypodius; complex rearrangements within Phasianidae (88-110) Anseriformes Dendrocygna, Bucephala and Nettapus are paraphyletic; many deeper branches remain unresolved (97,109,(111)(112)(113)(114)(115)(116) (66,67,87,(135)(136)(137)(138)(139)(140)(141)(142)(143)(144)(145) …”

Linkages between the life-history evolution of tropical and temperate birds and the resistance of their cells to oxidative and non-oxidative chemical injury

“…We constructed tree branch lengths from Sibley and Ahlquist (Sibley and Ahlquist, 1990) and modified the tree accordingly to recent literature (Johnson and Sorenson, 1999;Klicka et al, 2000;Yuri and Mindell, 2002;Boyd, 2011). Trees were manipulated using Mesquite (Maddison and Maddison, 2010).…”