Morphology and niche evolution influence hummingbird speciation rates

0578703 - MBÚ 2024 GB eng J - Journal Article
Barreto, E. - Lim, M. C. W. - Rojas, D. - Davalos, L. M. - Wuest, R. O. - Machač, Antonín - Graham, C. H.
Morphology and niche evolution influence hummingbird speciation rates.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. Roč. 290, č. 1997 (2023), č. článku 20221793. ISSN 0962-8452. E-ISSN 1471-2954
Institutional support: RVO:61388971
Keywords : species-richness * body-size * r package * diversification * ecology * radiation * patterns * birds * conservatism * diversity * dynamic traits * diversification * evolutionary divergence * niche conservatism * Trochilidae
OECD category: Microbiology
Impact factor: 4.7, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1793

How traits affect speciation is a long-standing question in evolution. We investigate whether speciation rates are affected by the traits themselves or by the rates of their evolution, in hummingbirds, a clade with great variation in speciation rates, morphology and ecological niches. Further, we test two opposing hypotheses, postulating that speciation rates are promoted by trait conservatism or, alternatively, by trait divergence. To address these questions, we analyse morphological (body mass and bill length) and niche traits (temperature and precipitation position and breadth, and mid-elevation), using a variety of methods to estimate speciation rates and correlate them with traits and their evolutionary rates. When it comes to the traits, we find faster speciation in smaller hummingbirds with shorter bills, living at higher elevations and experiencing greater temperature ranges. As for the trait evolutionary rates, we find that speciation increases with rates of divergence in the niche traits, but not in the morphological traits. Together, these results reveal the interplay of mechanisms through which different traits and their evolutionary rates (conservatism or divergence) influence the origination of hummingbird diversity.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0347618