The conquering of North America: dated phylogenetic and biogeographic inference of migratory behavior in bee hummingbirds

Abstract

BackgroundGeographical and temporal patterns of diversification in bee hummingbirds (Mellisugini) were assessed with respect to the evolution of migration, critical for colonization of North America. We generated a dated multilocus phylogeny of the Mellisugini based on a dense sampling using Bayesian inference, maximum-likelihood and maximum parsimony methods, and reconstructed the ancestral states of distributional areas in a Bayesian framework and migratory behavior using maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood and re-rooting methods.ResultsAll phylogenetic analyses confirmed monophyly of the Mellisugini and the inclusion of Atthis, Calothorax, Doricha, Eulidia, Mellisuga, Microstilbon, Myrmia, Tilmatura, and Thaumastura. Mellisugini consists of two clades: (1) South American species (including Tilmatura dupontii), and (2) species distributed in North and Central America and the Caribbean islands. The second clade consists of four subclades: Mexican (Calothorax, Doricha) and Caribbean (Archilochus, Calliphlox, Mellisuga) sheartails, Calypte, and Selasphorus (incl. Atthis). Coalescent-based dating places the origin of the Mellisugini in the mid-to-late Miocene, with crown ages of most subclades in the early Pliocene, and subsequent species splits in the Pleistocene. Bee hummingbirds reached western North America by the end of the Miocene and the ancestral mellisuginid (bee hummingbirds) was reconstructed as sedentary, with four independent gains of migratory behavior during the evolution of the Mellisugini.ConclusionsEarly colonization of North America and subsequent evolution of migration best explained biogeographic and diversification patterns within the Mellisugini. The repeated evolution of long-distance migration by different lineages was critical for the colonization of North America, contributing to the radiation of bee hummingbirds. Comparative phylogeography is needed to test whether the repeated evolution of migration resulted from northward expansion of southern sedentary populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0980-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evidence of linked selection on the Z chromosome of hybridizing hummingbirds*

“…Phylogenetic and population tree inference on both concatenated ddRAD data and static whole‐genome SNP calls found that S. calliope is sister to a combined clade of S. rufus and S. sasin (Figure 1), consistent with a recent study examining variation at six Sanger‐sequenced nuclear loci (Licona‐Vera and Ornelas ). Although S. calliope is monophyletic, S. rufus and S. sasin form a paraphyletic grade in concatenated analysis.…”

“…Selasphorus rufus and S. sasin diverged from S. calliope during the early Pleistocene (Licona‐Vera and Ornelas ) and their demographic trends begin to diverge in the late Pleistocene at the approximate time of the LGM (Fig. 5).…”

“…The Rufous ( Selasphorus rufus ) and Allen's ( Selasphorus sasin ) hummingbirds are the most recently diverged members of the “bee hummingbird” clade that colonized temperate North America roughly 5‐10 million years ago (McGuire et al. ; Licona‐Vera and Ornelas ). Both species are small bodied with rufous sides, pale bellies, and (for males) an iridescent orange‐red gorget.…”

“…Phylogenetic studies of the Trochilidae (McGuire et al. ) and Bee Hummingbird clades (Licona‐Vera and Ornelas ) identify the rufous and Allen's hummingbirds as sister to the calliope hummingbird ( Selasphorus calliope ) in the “Northern Selasphorus ” clade, which diverged from a primarily Central American group including the broad‐tailed hummingbird ( Selasphorus platycercus ) 4.5 – 2.5 million years ago. A recent study by Myers et al.…”

Efecto del tamaño corporal y distancia evolutiva en las interacciones agonísticas de colibríes (Trochilidae)

“…No obstante, recientemente Licona-Vera y Ornelas (2017) han postulado que la diversificación del clado Abejas ocurrió inicialmente hace cerca de 9.93 millones de años, pero la mayoría de los eventos de divergencia ocurrieron posteriormente (durante el Plioceno y el Pleistoceno Medio tardío). Por ello, la diversificación de los colibríes Abeja en la región pudo estar asociada a la aparición de nuevos hábitats y condiciones climáticas favorables originadas a partir de la formación de los sistemas montañosos en México y Centroamérica (Licona-Vera y Ornelas, 2017). Debido a la historia de diversificación del grupo en el continente, cada comunidad de colibríes se ha conformado diferencialmente a lo largo del tiempo con la llegada o diversificación de nuevas especies de colibríes o de recursos.…”