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Dryad

Thesis: Morphological disparity across clades: Correlates, limitations and alternatives – Chapter 6: What determines disparity in avian clades?

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Jan 02, 2023 version files 4.72 MB

Abstract

Morphological disparity is an aspect of avian evolution that remains understudied and has rarely been quantified explicitly, despite its importance for inferring patterns of avian evolution. Morphological and molecular data are now routinely used both in combination and in isolation to infer phylogeny and to study evolutionary rates. Similarly, parallel studies of phylogeny, diversity and morphological disparity are now commonplace in both the neontological and palaeontological literature (Giribet, 2015; Bromham et al., 2002; Hopkins and Gerber, 2017; Deline et al., 2018; Prum et al., 2015). Most recently, the concept of molecular disparity has been introduced as an analogue of morphological disparity, although there are few studies that attempt to deploy it (Deline et al., 2018; van den Ende et al., 2022). This chapter addresses ten related questions using the largest available morphological and molecular data set for birds.