Taxon Cycles in the West Indian Avifauna

Ricklefs, Robert E.; Cox, George W.

doi:10.1086/282762

Cited by 285 publications

(270 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The increased body size in Margaroperdix and Anurophasis could be related to co-distribution with Coturnix relatives and character displacement as predicted by the taxon cycle hypothesis, where lineages alternate between phases of range expansion and contraction over time [62][63][64]. Migratory and dispersive quail species qualify as lineages in a state of distributional expansion, whereas large-bodied insular forms with reduced HWI are in a state of contraction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

How do seemingly non-vagile clades accomplish trans-marine dispersal? Trait and dispersal evolution in the landfowl (Aves: Galliformes)

et al. 2017

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Dispersal ability is a key factor in determining insular distributions and island community composition, yet non-vagile terrestrial organisms widely occur on oceanic islands. The landfowl (pheasants, partridges, grouse, turkeys, quails and relatives) are generally poor dispersers, but the Old World quail (Coturnix) are a notable exception. These birds evolved small body sizes and high-aspectratio wing shapes, and hence are capable of trans-continental migrations and trans-oceanic colonization. Two monotypic partridge genera, Margaroperdix of Madagascar and Anurophasis of alpine New Guinea, may represent additional examples of trans-marine dispersal in landfowl, but their body size and wing shape are typical of poorly dispersive continental species. Here, we estimate historical relationships of quail and their relatives using phylogenomics, and infer body size and wing shape evolution in relation to trans-marine dispersal events. Our results show that Margaroperdix and Anurophasis are nested within the Coturnix quail, and are each 'island giants' that independently evolved from dispersive, Coturnix-like ancestral populations that colonized and were subsequently isolated on Madagascar and New Guinea. This evolutionary cycle of gain and loss of dispersal ability, coupled with extinction of dispersive taxa, can result in the false appearance that non-vagile taxa somehow underwent rare oceanic dispersal.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

How do seemingly non-vagile clades accomplish trans-marine dispersal? Trait and dispersal evolution in the landfowl (Aves: Galliformes)

et al. 2017

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“…Based on geographical distributions of the insular ant fauna in Melanesia, Edward O. Wilson [14,15] suggested historical taxon cycles as a mechanistic cause behind the contemporary distribution of the Melanesian ant fauna. Subsequently, other distributional studies [16][17][18][19][20] corroborated this idea of recurring expansions and contractions. Taxon cycles were generally described as consisting of four main stages [19][20][21]: an initial expansion stage (I) in which a taxon colonizes all islands within an archipelago(s), but largely confined to coastal habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Evidence of taxon cycles in an Indo-Pacific passerine bird radiation (Aves: Pachycephala )

et al. 2014

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Many insular taxa possess extraordinary abilities to disperse but may differ in their abilities to diversify and compete. While some taxa are widespread across archipelagos, others have disjunct (relictual) populations. These types of taxa, exemplified in the literature by selections of unrelated taxa, have been interpreted as representing a continuum of expansions and contractions (i.e. taxon cycles). Here, we use molecular data of 35 out of 40 species of the avian genus Pachycephala (including 54 out of 66 taxa in Pachycephala pectoralis (sensu lato), to assess the spatio-temporal evolution of the group. We also include data on species distributions, morphology, habitat and elevational ranges to test a number of predictions associated with the taxon-cycle hypothesis. We demonstrate that relictual species persist on the largest and highest islands across the Indo-Pacific, whereas recent archipelago expansions resulted in colonization of all islands in a region. For co-occurring island taxa, the earliest colonists generally inhabit the interior and highest parts of an island, with little spatial overlap with later colonists. Collectively, our data support the idea that taxa continuously pass through phases of expansions and contractions (i.e. taxon cycles).

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“…As the Papuan landmass began to emerge, birds invaded the developing montane forest habitats, where their powers of dispersal began to diminish as they adapted to the closed environments. This scenario, in which old endemic populations on large islands become sedentary specialists of montane forest, characterizes many taxa [e.g., birds (13,(38)(39)(40)(41)(42), ants (43,44), butterflies (45)]. The core Corvoidean lineages that became restricted in this way to Papuan cloud forests include Aleadryas, Androphobus, Chaetorhynchus, Eulacestoma, Ifrita, Melampitta, Ornorectes, and Rhagologus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species "pumps," whether associated with taxon cycles in archipelagos (39,40) or biodiversity hotspots in continental areas (46), might be most productive at an early stage of radiation, when open ecological space places a selective premium on innovation and dispersal (47, 48). Number of lineages and number of endemic lineages that existed 25 Mya in Australia, New Guinea, and outside Australo-Papua (for details, see Tables S2 and S3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major global radiation of corvoid birds originated in the proto-Papuan archipelago

Jønsson

Fabre

Ricklefs

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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A central paradigm in island biogeography has been the unidirectional "downstream" colonization of islands from continents (source to sink) based on the idea that less-diverse island communities are easier to invade than biologically more-diverse continental communities. Recently, several cases of "upstream" colonization (from islands to continents) have been documented, challenging the traditional view. However, all these cases have involved individual island species that have colonized mainland regions. Here, using molecular phylogenetic data, divergence time estimates, lineage diversity distributions, and ancestral area analyses, we reconstruct the spread of a species-rich (>700 species) passerine bird radiation (core Corvoidea) from its late Eocene/Oligocene origin in the emerging proto-Papuan archipelago north of Australia, including multiple colonizations from the archipelago to Southeast Asia. Thus, islands apparently provided the setting for the initiation of a major songbird radiation that subsequently invaded all other continents. Morphological and behavioral adaptations of the core Corvoidea as generalist feeders in open habitats, which facilitated dispersal and colonization, apparently evolved in the descendants of sedentary forest birds that invaded the proto-Papuan archipelago. The archipelago evidently provided islands of the right size, number, and proximity to continental areas to support the adaptation and diversification of vagile colonizers that went on to increase avian diversity on a global scale.Indo-Pacific | Passeriformes | community assembly | macroecology | range expansion

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Taxon Cycles in the West Indian Avifauna

Cited by 285 publications

References 25 publications

How do seemingly non-vagile clades accomplish trans-marine dispersal? Trait and dispersal evolution in the landfowl (Aves: Galliformes)

How do seemingly non-vagile clades accomplish trans-marine dispersal? Trait and dispersal evolution in the landfowl (Aves: Galliformes)

Evidence of taxon cycles in an Indo-Pacific passerine bird radiation (Aves: Pachycephala )

Major global radiation of corvoid birds originated in the proto-Papuan archipelago

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