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Tempo and timing of ecological trait divergence in bird speciation

Jay P. McEntee, Joseph A. Tobias, Catherine Sheard, J. Gordon Burleigh
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/083253
Jay P. McEntee
1Biology Department, University of Florida, PO Box 118525, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
2Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Arizona, PO Box 210088, Biological Sciences West Room 310, 1041 E. Lowell St., Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
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  • For correspondence: jaymcentee@ufl.edu
Joseph A. Tobias
3Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
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Catherine Sheard
4Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Rd, Bristol, BS8 1UU, UK
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J. Gordon Burleigh
1Biology Department, University of Florida, PO Box 118525, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
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Summary paragraph

Organismal traits may evolve either gradually or in rapid pulses followed by periods of stasis, but the relative importance of these evolutionary models in generating biodiversity has proven difficult to resolve1,2. In addition, while it is often assumed that pulses of trait evolution are associated with speciation events, few studies have explicitly examined how the tempo of trait divergence varies with respect to different geographical phases of speciation. Thus, we still know little about the trajectories of trait divergence over timescales relevant to speciation, or the extent to which these trajectories are shaped by variation in geographical isolation and overlap (sympatry) among incipient species. Here, we combine divergence time estimates, trait measurements, and geographic range data for avian sister species pairs worldwide to examine the tempo and timing of trait divergence during allopatric speciation. We show that divergence in two important ecological traits—?body mass and beak morphology—is best explained by a model including pulses of divergence and periods of relative stasis. We also infer that trait divergence pulses often precede sympatry, and that pulses leading to greater trait disparity are associated with earlier transitions to sympatry. These findings suggest that early pulses of trait divergence promote subsequent transitions to sympatry, rather than such pulses occurring after sympatry has been established, for example via character displacement3. Incorporating pulsed divergence models into allopatric speciation theory helps to resolve some apparently contradictory observations, including widespread instances of both rapid sympatry and prolonged geographical exclusion4-6.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted April 26, 2017.
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Tempo and timing of ecological trait divergence in bird speciation
Jay P. McEntee, Joseph A. Tobias, Catherine Sheard, J. Gordon Burleigh
bioRxiv 083253; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/083253
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Tempo and timing of ecological trait divergence in bird speciation
Jay P. McEntee, Joseph A. Tobias, Catherine Sheard, J. Gordon Burleigh
bioRxiv 083253; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/083253

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