Punctuated evolution of bill morphology in the largest family of songbirds (Thraupidae)
Data files
Jan 29, 2025 version files 1.39 MB
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README.md
879 B
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Thraupidae_bill_landmark_data.rds
1.39 MB
Abstract
We assessed correlations between speciation rate and bill morphology (size, shape, and evolutionary rate) in an ecologically diverse and continental-scale songbird radiation, the tanagers (Thraupidae). Our analyses showed that bill size, shape, and their evolutionary rates are not correlated with speciation rate. However, we did find evidence that each axis of variation in bill morphology diversifies at speciation events interspersed with periods of gradual evolution, consistent with a punctuated equilibrium model of character change. To determine correlations, we incorporated a time-calibrated molecular phylogeny and high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) surface scans of bill structure from museum study skins. Overall, our findings suggest that bill size and shape diversify in association with the speciation process, but not through any effect on the rate of speciation. Previous studies have shown other traits, such as song, ecological niche, and plumage do influence speciation and, ultimately, species richness in tanagers.
README: Punctuated evolution of bill morphology in the largest family of songbirds (Thraupidae)
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.d7wm37q7c
Description of the data and file structure
Landmark data based on high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) surface scans of tanager bills. The dataset consists of landmark and semi-landmark configurations of bill morphology from one adult male specimen per species, when available, from study skins at the Natural History Museum (NHM), Tring, UK. Landmarks are stored in a 3D array, where each markup corresponds to a separate element in the array, with rows representing 79 landmark positions and columns corresponding to xyz coordinates. The data is available as a .rds file (R data format).
Sharing/Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
Mark My Bird (markmybird.org)