Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.)

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dc.contributor.advisorCrowe, Timothy Men_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorBowie, Rauri Charles Kerren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorDavies, Owen Ren_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-30T13:10:43Z
dc.date.available2015-11-30T13:10:43Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractA review of the genus Cisticola was published in 1930 by Rear-admiral Lynes. While subsequent authors have modified Lynes' original groupings, his work remains the basis for modern syntheses of cisticolas. This study tests Lynes' hypotheses by analysing data that he presented in his review and with measurement and plumage data collected from museum specimens. Lynes' groupings were well recovered (98%) when data captured from his review were analysed phenetically, suggesting that he grouped species mostly by similarity. In contrast, when morpho-behavioural data were analysed using cladistic methods, many of his groupings were not monophyletic and the resultant cladogram had very little nodal support due to their highly conservative morphology. To resolve the structure of the genus and the relationships within it, two mitochondrial and four nuclear regions were sequenced from toe-pad samples taken from museum specimens. The molecular analyses included 44 of the 49 currently recognised species and represents the most taxon-dense molecular phylogeny of the genus. The resultant phylogeny separates species into five main clades, but many of Lynes' groupings were not monophyletic and there was also very little support for more recent groupings. Vocalisation analyses indicated that frequency components of songs were correlated with habitat type and body size. These correlations, though, disappeared when phylogeny was controlled for indicating that phylogenetic history rather than habitat preference influenced song character distribution. Some song types are mismatched to their environment, and some sympatric sister species appear to give similar calls. Cisticolas may overcome these attenuation and identification difficulties with behavioural adaptations and aerial displays. The biogeographic distribution of closely related species does not agree with many of the previously proposed hypotheses and a dated phylogeny estimates that most of the diversification in the genus has occurred within the last five million years. Most of the mean divergence date estimates correlated with periods of climate variability and episodes during which there is evidence for high lake levels in Africa, rather than correlating with Plio-Pleistocene glaciation, offering evidence that open habitats may have become fragmented during extremes of both arid and humid climates.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationDavies, O. R. (2015). <i>Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.)</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15462en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationDavies, Owen R. <i>"Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.)."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15462en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDavies, O. 2015. Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.). University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Davies, Owen R AB - A review of the genus Cisticola was published in 1930 by Rear-admiral Lynes. While subsequent authors have modified Lynes' original groupings, his work remains the basis for modern syntheses of cisticolas. This study tests Lynes' hypotheses by analysing data that he presented in his review and with measurement and plumage data collected from museum specimens. Lynes' groupings were well recovered (98%) when data captured from his review were analysed phenetically, suggesting that he grouped species mostly by similarity. In contrast, when morpho-behavioural data were analysed using cladistic methods, many of his groupings were not monophyletic and the resultant cladogram had very little nodal support due to their highly conservative morphology. To resolve the structure of the genus and the relationships within it, two mitochondrial and four nuclear regions were sequenced from toe-pad samples taken from museum specimens. The molecular analyses included 44 of the 49 currently recognised species and represents the most taxon-dense molecular phylogeny of the genus. The resultant phylogeny separates species into five main clades, but many of Lynes' groupings were not monophyletic and there was also very little support for more recent groupings. Vocalisation analyses indicated that frequency components of songs were correlated with habitat type and body size. These correlations, though, disappeared when phylogeny was controlled for indicating that phylogenetic history rather than habitat preference influenced song character distribution. Some song types are mismatched to their environment, and some sympatric sister species appear to give similar calls. Cisticolas may overcome these attenuation and identification difficulties with behavioural adaptations and aerial displays. The biogeographic distribution of closely related species does not agree with many of the previously proposed hypotheses and a dated phylogeny estimates that most of the diversification in the genus has occurred within the last five million years. Most of the mean divergence date estimates correlated with periods of climate variability and episodes during which there is evidence for high lake levels in Africa, rather than correlating with Plio-Pleistocene glaciation, offering evidence that open habitats may have become fragmented during extremes of both arid and humid climates. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.) TI - Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.) UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15462 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15462
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationDavies OR. Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.). [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15462en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherOrnithologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEvolutionary Biologyen_ZA
dc.titleTaxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of cisticolas (Cisticola spp.)en_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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