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| Author(s): |
Fábio Sarubbi Raposo do Amaral
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) |
| Defense date: | 2008-05-07 |
| Examining board members: |
Anita Wajntal;
Eduardo Eizirik;
Luiz Antonio Pedreira Gonzaga;
Sergio Russo Matioli;
Luis Fábio Silveira
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| Advisor: | Anita Wajntal |
| Abstract | |
The family Accipitridae represents one of the largest radiations of modern birds, with species being found in a plethora of habitats around the world. Among the divisions proposed for the family in the past, the group of the buteonine hawks is one of the few that approximate monophyletic lineages, according to recent phylogenetic analyses. Besides occurring both in the New World and Old World, most buteonine hawk species are mainly found in Central and South America, what provides an opportunity to evaluate patterns and processes of diversification in both continental and local scales. The main goals of this work were to infer phylogenetic relationships among species of buteonine hawks, analyze the evolution of migratory behaviour, and evaluate patterns and processes of diversification, especially in the Neotropical region. We obtained more than 7.000 base pairs of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences from 51 species of buteonine hawks, what comprises the largest phylogenetic analysis of the group so far. Approximately one third of the total dataset was obtained from DNA sequences of 12S, tRNAVal and 16S, which are known to have paired sites that evolve in concert due to the presence of a secondary structure. Alternative analyses incorporating such information have been performed, as a way to evaluate the effects of secondary structure in the phylogenetic analyses. Since a model of secondary structure of 16S of birds was not available so far, we build one based on comparative analysis of representatives of all modern avian orders. The results suggest that the genera Buteo, Leucopternis and Buteogallus as currently accepted are not monophyletic, what stress a lack of concordance between current classification and the evolutionary history of this group. Five main lineages were found, and the most basal part of the topology is composed by mainly neotropical species, while the majority of neartic and Old World species were positioned in the most derived part of the tree. Together with divergence time estimates, those results suggest a long period of diversification in the Neotropics (possibly beginning in the Upper Miocene or Oligocene, and extending to the Pleistocene), with a latter colonization and diversification of the Neartics and Old World (possibly beginning between the Upper Oligocene or Pliocene, and extending to the Pleistocene). Migratory behaviour evolved several times, and may have contributed to diversification by means of exploitation of previously unavailable habitats as well as promotion of speciation in islands. Lowland species disjunctions between each side of the Andes occurred four times, possible due to two vicariant events. The earliest disjunctions may have been caused by Andean orogeny, but no process could be clearly attributed to the two most recent speciations. Two lineages restricted to flooded habitats were found. The results suggest not only a long process of diversification in such habitats, independently of species of non-flooded habitats, but also a historical relationship between várzea forests in Amazonia and costal habitats. Similarly, species that occupy the same biome are not the closest relatives in several cases, what suggests a complex history of diversification in the Neotropical region. Inclusion of secondary structure information did not affect significantly phylogenetic and divergence time estimates, likely due to the low variation in stems in such level of divergence. (AU) | |