Diversification history in the Dendrocincla fuliginosa complex (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae): Insights from broad geographic sampling

Author(s)

Schultz, Eduardo D. ^[1] ; Perez-Eman, Jorge ^{[2, 3]} ; Aleixo, Alexandre ^{[4, 5]} ; Miyaki, Cristina Y. ^[6] ; Brumfield, Robb T. ^{[7, 8]} ; Cracraft, Joel ^[9] ; Ribas, Camila C. ^[10]

Affiliation

^[1] Inst Nacl de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Programa Pos Grad Biol Ecol, Av Andre Araujo 2936, Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

^[2] Colecc Ornitol Phelps, Caracas 1010A - Venezuela

^[3] Univ Cent Venezuela, Inst Zool & Ecol Trop, Caracas 1041A - Venezuela

^[4] Univ Helsinki, Finnish Museum Nat Hist, Helsinki - Finland

^[5] Coordenacao Zool, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Caixa Postal 399, BR-66040170 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[7] Louisiana State Univ, Museum Nat Sci, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 - USA

^[8] Louisiana State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 - USA

^[9] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Dept Ornithol, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[10] Coordenacao Biodiversidade, Inst Nacl Pesquisas Amazonia, Av Andre Aratijo 2936, Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution; v. 140, NOV 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Dendrocincla woodcreepers are ant-following birds widespread throughout tropical America. Species in the genus are widely distributed and show little phenotypic variation. Notwithstanding, several subspecies have been described, but the validity of some of these taxa and the boundaries among them have been discussed for decades. Recent genetic evidence based on limited sampling has pointed to the paraphyly of D. fuliginosa, showing that its subspecies constitute a complex that also includes D. anabatina and D. turdina. In this study we sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial markers for over two hundred individuals belonging to the D. fuliginosa complex to recover phylogenetic relationships, describe intraspecific genetic diversity and provide historical biogeographic scenarios of diversification. Our results corroborate the paraphyly of D. fuliginosa, with D. turdina and D. anabatina nested within its recognized subspecies. Recovered genetic lineages roughly match the distributions of described subspecies and congruence among phylogenetic structure, phenotypic diagnosis and distribution limits were used to discuss current systematics and taxonomy within the complex, with special attention to Northern South America. Our data suggest the origin of the complex in western Amazonia, associated with the establishment of upland forests in the area during the early Pliocene. Paleoclimatic cycles and river rearrangements during the Pleistocene could have, at different times, both facilitated dispersal across large Amazonian rivers and the Andes and isolated populations, likely playing an important role in differentiation of extant species. Previously described hybridization in the headwaters of the Tapajos river represents a secondary contact of non-sister lineages that cannot be used to test the role of the river as primary source of diversification. Based on comparisons of D. fuliginosa with closely related understory upland forest taxa, we suggest that differential habitat use could influence diversification processes in a historically changing landscape, and should be considered for proposing general mechanisms of diversification. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/12989-1 - Reconstruction of the evolutionary history and phylogeographic studies of neotropical birds based on molecular markers II
• Grantee: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50297-0 - Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: a multidisciplinary framework for biodiversity prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot
• Grantee: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants