Convergent evolution of 'creepers' in the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation

dc.contributor.authorReding, Dawn M.
dc.contributor.authorFoster, Jeffrey T.
dc.contributor.authorJames, Helen F.
dc.contributor.authorPratt, H. Douglas
dc.contributor.authorFleischer, Robert C.
dc.date.accessioned2009-06-08T13:09:26Z
dc.date.available2009-06-08T13:09:26Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstractNatural selection plays a fundamental role in the ecological theory of adaptive radiation. A prediction of this theory is the convergent evolution of traits in lineages experiencing similar environments. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are a spectacular example of adaptive radiation and may demonstrate convergence, but uncertainty about phylogenetic relationships within the group has made it difficult to assess such evolutionary patterns. We examine the phylogenetic relationships of the Hawaii creeper (), a bird that in a suite of morphological, ecological and behavioural traits closely resembles the Kauai creeper (), but whose mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and osteology suggest a relationship with the amakihis ( in part) and akepas (). We analysed nuclear DNA sequence data from 11 relevant honeycreeper taxa and one outgroup to test whether the character contradiction results from historical hybridization and mtDNA introgression, or convergent evolution. We found no evidence of past hybridization, a phenomenon that remains undocumented in Hawaiian honeycreepers, and confirmed mtDNA and osteological evidence that the Hawaii creeper is most closely related to the amakihis and akepas. Thus, the morphological, ecological and behavioural similarities between the evolutionarily distant Hawaii and Kauai creepers represent an extreme example of convergent evolution and demonstrate how natural selection can lead to repeatable evolutionary outcomes.
dc.format.extent187024 bytes
dc.format.extent345978 bytes
dc.format.extent221–224
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier1744-9561
dc.identifier.citationReding, Dawn M., Foster, Jeffrey T., James, Helen F., Pratt, H. Douglas, and Fleischer, Robert C. 2009. "<a href="https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/7517">Convergent evolution of 'creepers' in the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation</a>." <em>Biology Letters</em>, 5, (2) 221–224. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0589">https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0589</a>.
dc.identifier.issn1744-9561
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10088/7517
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.relation.ispartofBiology Letters 5 (2)
dc.titleConvergent evolution of 'creepers' in the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation
dc.typearticle
sro.description.unitNMNH
sro.description.unitNH-Vertebrate Zoology
sro.description.unitNZP
sro.identifier.doi10.1098/rsbl.2008.0589
sro.identifier.itemID78432
sro.identifier.refworksID73090
sro.identifier.urlhttps://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/7517

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