The responses of ground-dwelling birds to heat and cold stress encompass a variety of behavioural,physiological and even morphological mechanisms.However,the role of glabrous skin in this respect has been marginally a...The responses of ground-dwelling birds to heat and cold stress encompass a variety of behavioural,physiological and even morphological mechanisms.However,the role of glabrous skin in this respect has been marginally addressed so far.The Helmeted Guineafowl(Numida meleagris)is a landfowl distributed across Sub-Saharan Africa with eight traditionally recognised extant subspecies.Among the most prominent morphological traits underlying intraspecific variability are size and pigmentation of the bare throat skin(or sack),which might be related to the different habitats and environmental conditions across its wide range.In order to explore the Helmeted Guineafowl range-wide sack variation and pigmentation in relation to thermoregulation and sexual signalling,we collected morphometric and environmental information for N.m.coronata integrating field data with the inspection of photographic material encompassing seven subspecies and environmental information from their habitats.Field data evidenced that sack size was significantly correlated with ambient temperature,thus pointing to a likely involvement of the throat sack in thermoregulation.When the pictorial data from all subspecies were pooled,sack size correlated negatively with biomass,rainfall and humidity,while a positive correlation was found with annual solar irradiation.Sack size correlated positively with monthly temperature variation among the bluethroated subspecies from southern Africa as opposed to the black-throated subspecies ranging north to Zambia and Mozambique.Still,in this latter group the sack was often larger during winter months,possibly to maximise solar radiation absorbance.Noteworthy,sack size was related to sex dimorphism in two subspecies.Sack morphology and colour in the Helmeted Guineafowl likely modulate body temperature by evaporative cooling or heating upon needs,but in some subspecies it is also seemingly related to sexual signalling.Additional studies are needed to fully understand the multifunctionality of this important morphological feature in this species.展开更多
Weaverbirds are a speciose group of colorful passerines inhabiting the Old World Tropics.Nevertheless,the Oriental weaverbirds(Ploceus spp.),widespread across southern Asia,are much less diverse and restricted to a fe...Weaverbirds are a speciose group of colorful passerines inhabiting the Old World Tropics.Nevertheless,the Oriental weaverbirds(Ploceus spp.),widespread across southern Asia,are much less diverse and restricted to a few ecological niches compared to their African counterpart.To investigate their phylogeography,we retrieved 101 samples of Baya Weaver(P.philippinus),Streaked Weaver(P.manyar),Black-Throated Weaver(P.benghalensis)and Asian Golden Weaver(P.hypoxanthus)along with GenBank sequences of Finn's Weaver(P.megarhynchus).We reconstructed the first molecular phylogeny based on a dataset consisting of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes,dating the most recent common ancestor of Oriental Ploceus to~11 mya.Subsequent speciation appears to have been a combination of divergence within the Indian subcontinent and dispersal across a barrier situated between the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese region,which provided habitats with a varying degree of isolations and ultimately promoted divergences in allopatry.Two descendants of the earliest nodes,P.megarhynchus and P.hypoxanthus,are both rare and local,often found near large river systems,which perhaps reflects niche conservatism and a lack of adaptive potential.The three smaller species are all widespread,common and less habitat specific.The most recent divergence,between western and eastern P.philippinus populations,is supported by both phylogenetic and morphological evidence,pointing toward limited gene flow between them.However,a zone of intergradation may exist in Myanmar and Brahmaputra flood plains,thus preventing a recommendation for species level recognition without further study.展开更多
Collection specimens provide valuable and often overlooked biological material that enables addressing relevant,long-unanswered questions in conservation biology,historical biogeography,and other research fields.Here,...Collection specimens provide valuable and often overlooked biological material that enables addressing relevant,long-unanswered questions in conservation biology,historical biogeography,and other research fields.Here,we use preserved specimens to analyze the historical distribution of the black francolin(Francolinus francolinus,Phasianidae),a case that has recently aroused the interest of archeozoologists and evolutionary biologists.The black francolin currently ranges from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent,but,at least since the Middle Ages,it also had a circum-Mediterranean distribution.The species could have persisted in Greece and the Maghreb until the 19th century,even though this possibility had been questioned due to the absence of museum specimens and scant literary evidence.Nevertheless,we identified four 200-year-old stuffed black francolins-presumably the only ones still existing-from these areas and sequenced their mitochondrial DNA control region.Based on the comparison with conspecifics(n=396)spanning the entirety of the historic and current species range,we found that the new samples pertain to previously identified genetic groups from either the Near East or the Indian subcontinent.While disproving the former occurrence of an allegedly native westernmost subspecies,these results point toward the role of the Crown of Aragon in the circum-Mediterranean expansion of the black francolin,including the Maghreb and Greece.Genetic evidence hints at the long-distance transport of these birds along the Silk Road,probably to be traded in the commerce centers of the Eastern Mediterranean.展开更多
基金funded by a research grant from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology,University of Cape Town,South Africa[REF.B 717]Partial support was provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology[FCT fellowships PTDC/BAA-AGR/28866/2017 and CEECIND/04084/2017]the Spanish Government,Ministry of Universities(“María Zambrano”–Next Generation EU)。
文摘The responses of ground-dwelling birds to heat and cold stress encompass a variety of behavioural,physiological and even morphological mechanisms.However,the role of glabrous skin in this respect has been marginally addressed so far.The Helmeted Guineafowl(Numida meleagris)is a landfowl distributed across Sub-Saharan Africa with eight traditionally recognised extant subspecies.Among the most prominent morphological traits underlying intraspecific variability are size and pigmentation of the bare throat skin(or sack),which might be related to the different habitats and environmental conditions across its wide range.In order to explore the Helmeted Guineafowl range-wide sack variation and pigmentation in relation to thermoregulation and sexual signalling,we collected morphometric and environmental information for N.m.coronata integrating field data with the inspection of photographic material encompassing seven subspecies and environmental information from their habitats.Field data evidenced that sack size was significantly correlated with ambient temperature,thus pointing to a likely involvement of the throat sack in thermoregulation.When the pictorial data from all subspecies were pooled,sack size correlated negatively with biomass,rainfall and humidity,while a positive correlation was found with annual solar irradiation.Sack size correlated positively with monthly temperature variation among the bluethroated subspecies from southern Africa as opposed to the black-throated subspecies ranging north to Zambia and Mozambique.Still,in this latter group the sack was often larger during winter months,possibly to maximise solar radiation absorbance.Noteworthy,sack size was related to sex dimorphism in two subspecies.Sack morphology and colour in the Helmeted Guineafowl likely modulate body temperature by evaporative cooling or heating upon needs,but in some subspecies it is also seemingly related to sexual signalling.Additional studies are needed to fully understand the multifunctionality of this important morphological feature in this species.
基金supported by fellowships of the Ministry of Universities of the Spanish Government(María Zambrano/Next Generation EU)the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology(FCT,PTDC/BAA-AGR/28866/2017)to GF.
文摘Weaverbirds are a speciose group of colorful passerines inhabiting the Old World Tropics.Nevertheless,the Oriental weaverbirds(Ploceus spp.),widespread across southern Asia,are much less diverse and restricted to a few ecological niches compared to their African counterpart.To investigate their phylogeography,we retrieved 101 samples of Baya Weaver(P.philippinus),Streaked Weaver(P.manyar),Black-Throated Weaver(P.benghalensis)and Asian Golden Weaver(P.hypoxanthus)along with GenBank sequences of Finn's Weaver(P.megarhynchus).We reconstructed the first molecular phylogeny based on a dataset consisting of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes,dating the most recent common ancestor of Oriental Ploceus to~11 mya.Subsequent speciation appears to have been a combination of divergence within the Indian subcontinent and dispersal across a barrier situated between the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese region,which provided habitats with a varying degree of isolations and ultimately promoted divergences in allopatry.Two descendants of the earliest nodes,P.megarhynchus and P.hypoxanthus,are both rare and local,often found near large river systems,which perhaps reflects niche conservatism and a lack of adaptive potential.The three smaller species are all widespread,common and less habitat specific.The most recent divergence,between western and eastern P.philippinus populations,is supported by both phylogenetic and morphological evidence,pointing toward limited gene flow between them.However,a zone of intergradation may exist in Myanmar and Brahmaputra flood plains,thus preventing a recommendation for species level recognition without further study.
基金Region sequences produced in this study were deposited in GenBank under accession numbers OR095509-OR095512.
文摘Collection specimens provide valuable and often overlooked biological material that enables addressing relevant,long-unanswered questions in conservation biology,historical biogeography,and other research fields.Here,we use preserved specimens to analyze the historical distribution of the black francolin(Francolinus francolinus,Phasianidae),a case that has recently aroused the interest of archeozoologists and evolutionary biologists.The black francolin currently ranges from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent,but,at least since the Middle Ages,it also had a circum-Mediterranean distribution.The species could have persisted in Greece and the Maghreb until the 19th century,even though this possibility had been questioned due to the absence of museum specimens and scant literary evidence.Nevertheless,we identified four 200-year-old stuffed black francolins-presumably the only ones still existing-from these areas and sequenced their mitochondrial DNA control region.Based on the comparison with conspecifics(n=396)spanning the entirety of the historic and current species range,we found that the new samples pertain to previously identified genetic groups from either the Near East or the Indian subcontinent.While disproving the former occurrence of an allegedly native westernmost subspecies,these results point toward the role of the Crown of Aragon in the circum-Mediterranean expansion of the black francolin,including the Maghreb and Greece.Genetic evidence hints at the long-distance transport of these birds along the Silk Road,probably to be traded in the commerce centers of the Eastern Mediterranean.
