The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird

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dc.contributor.authorRibeiro, Angela Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorLloyd, Pennen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorDean, W Richard Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Marken_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBowie, Rauri C Ken_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-16T04:11:03Z
dc.date.available2015-11-16T04:11:03Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAdvances in understanding the process of species formation require an integrated perspective that includes the evaluation of spatial, ecological and genetic components. One approach is to focus on multiple stages of divergence within the same species. Species that comprise phenotypically different populations segregated in apparently distinct habitats, in which range is presently continuous but was putatively geographically isolated provide an interesting system to study the mechanisms of population divergence. Here, we attempt to elucidate the role of ecology and geography in explaining observed morphological and genetic variation in an understorey-dwelling bird endemic to southeastern Africa, where two subspecies are recognized according to phenotype and habitat affinity. We carried out a range-wide analysis of climatic requirements, morphological and genetic variation across southeast Africa to test the hypothesis that the extent of gene flow among populations of the brown scrub-robin are influenced by their distinct climatic niches. We recovered two distinct trends depending on whether our analyses were hierarchically structured at the subspecies or at the within subspecies level. Between subspecies we found pronounced morphological differentiation associated with strong reproductive isolation (no gene flow) between populations occupying divergent climatic niches characterized by changes in the temperature of the warmest and wettest month. In contrast, within subspecies, we recovered continuous morphological variation with extensive gene flow among populations inhabiting the temperate and sub-tropical forests of southern Africa, despite divergence along the climate axis that is mainly determined by minimum temperature and precipitation of the coldest months. Our results highlight the role of niche divergence as a diversifying force that can promote reproductive isolation in vertebrates.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationRibeiro, A. M., Lloyd, P., Dean, W. R. J., Brown, M., & Bowie, R. C. K. (2014). The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15022en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationRibeiro, Angela M, Penn Lloyd, W Richard J Dean, Mark Brown, and Rauri C K Bowie "The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird." <i>PLoS One</i> (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15022en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationRibeiro, Â. M., Lloyd, P., Dean, W. R., Brown, M., & Bowie, R. C. (2013). The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird. PloS one, 9(2), e85903-e85903. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0085903en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Ribeiro, Angela M AU - Lloyd, Penn AU - Dean, W Richard J AU - Brown, Mark AU - Bowie, Rauri C K AB - Advances in understanding the process of species formation require an integrated perspective that includes the evaluation of spatial, ecological and genetic components. One approach is to focus on multiple stages of divergence within the same species. Species that comprise phenotypically different populations segregated in apparently distinct habitats, in which range is presently continuous but was putatively geographically isolated provide an interesting system to study the mechanisms of population divergence. Here, we attempt to elucidate the role of ecology and geography in explaining observed morphological and genetic variation in an understorey-dwelling bird endemic to southeastern Africa, where two subspecies are recognized according to phenotype and habitat affinity. We carried out a range-wide analysis of climatic requirements, morphological and genetic variation across southeast Africa to test the hypothesis that the extent of gene flow among populations of the brown scrub-robin are influenced by their distinct climatic niches. We recovered two distinct trends depending on whether our analyses were hierarchically structured at the subspecies or at the within subspecies level. Between subspecies we found pronounced morphological differentiation associated with strong reproductive isolation (no gene flow) between populations occupying divergent climatic niches characterized by changes in the temperature of the warmest and wettest month. In contrast, within subspecies, we recovered continuous morphological variation with extensive gene flow among populations inhabiting the temperate and sub-tropical forests of southern Africa, despite divergence along the climate axis that is mainly determined by minimum temperature and precipitation of the coldest months. Our results highlight the role of niche divergence as a diversifying force that can promote reproductive isolation in vertebrates. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0085903 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird TI - The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15022 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15022
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085903
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationRibeiro AM, Lloyd P, Dean WRJ, Brown M, Bowie RCK. The ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling bird. PLoS One. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15022.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2014 Ribeiro et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEcological nichesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForestsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherGene flowen_ZA
dc.subject.otherMitochondrial DNAen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBiogeographyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherGenetic locien_ZA
dc.subject.otherPopulation geneticsen_ZA
dc.titleThe ecological and geographic context of morphological and genetic divergence in an understorey-dwelling birden_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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