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Jon Fjeldså

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I am evolutionary biologist and ornithologist with long experience from fieldwork, especially in South America, Africa, Australasia and Northern Europe, and with analytic work where information on geographical distributions and community structure is combined with large phylogenies.

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Papers by Jon Fjeldså

Tracing 4000 years of environmental history in the Cuzco area, Peru, from the pollen record. Mountain Research and Development, 18 (2), 159-172.

by Alex Chepstow-Lusty and Jon Fjeldså

Polyphyletic origin of toxic Pitohui birds suggests widespread occurrence of toxicity in corvoid birds

by Jon Fjeldså and Les Christidis

Biology Letters, 2008

When two worlds collide: comparing human impact on fragile ecosystems before and after the Inca. Tawantinsuyu. 3, 127-134.

by Jon Fjeldså and Alex Chepstow-Lusty

Specialization in Plant-Hummingbird Networks Is Associated with Species Richness, Contemporary Precipitation and Quaternary Climate-Change Velocity

by Jeff Ollerton, Jon Fjeldså, Pete Cotton, Ivan Sazima, Jens-Christian Svenning, and Else Magård

PloS one, Jan 1, 2011

Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly ... more Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly understood, but it is widely believed that climate plays an important role in determining specialization. As climate-driven range dynamics should diminish local adaptations and favor generalization, one hypothesis is that contemporary biotic specialization is determined by the degree of past climatic instability, primarily Quaternary climate-change velocity. Other prominent hypotheses predict that either contemporary climate or species richness affect biotic specialization. To gain insight into geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization and its drivers, we use network analysis to determine the degree of specialization in plant-hummingbird mutualistic networks sampled at 31 localities, spanning a wide range of climate regimes across the Americas. We found greater biotic specialization at lower latitudes, with latitude explaining 20-22% of the spatial variation in plant-hummingbird specialization. Potential drivers of specialization -contemporary climate, Quaternary climate-change velocity, and species richness -had superior explanatory power, together explaining 53-64% of the variation in specialization. Notably, our data provides empirical evidence for the hypothesized roles of species richness, contemporary precipitation and Quaternary climate-change velocity as key predictors of biotic specialization, whereas contemporary temperature and seasonality seem unimportant in determining specialization. These results suggest that both ecological and evolutionary processes at Quaternary time scales can be important in driving large-scale geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization, at least for co-evolved systems such as plant-hummingbird networks.

Specialization in Plant-Hummingbird Networks Is Associated with Species Richness, Contemporary Precipitation and Quaternary Climate-Change Velocity

by Andréa Araujo, Jon Fjeldså, and Jeff Ollerton

PLoS ONE, 2011

Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly ... more Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly understood, but it is widely believed that climate plays an important role in determining specialization. As climate-driven range dynamics should diminish local adaptations and favor generalization, one hypothesis is that contemporary biotic specialization is determined by the degree of past climatic instability, primarily Quaternary climate-change velocity. Other prominent hypotheses predict that either contemporary climate or species richness affect biotic specialization. To gain insight into geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization and its drivers, we use network analysis to determine the degree of specialization in plant-hummingbird mutualistic networks sampled at 31 localities, spanning a wide range of climate regimes across the Americas. We found greater biotic specialization at lower latitudes, with latitude explaining 20-22% of the spatial variation in plant-hummingbird specialization. Potential drivers of specialization -contemporary climate, Quaternary climate-change velocity, and species richness -had superior explanatory power, together explaining 53-64% of the variation in specialization. Notably, our data provides empirical evidence for the hypothesized roles of species richness, contemporary precipitation and Quaternary climate-change velocity as key predictors of biotic specialization, whereas contemporary temperature and seasonality seem unimportant in determining specialization. These results suggest that both ecological and evolutionary processes at Quaternary time scales can be important in driving large-scale geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization, at least for co-evolved systems such as plant-hummingbird networks.

Journal of Ornithology - J ORNITHOL, 2000

A preliminary assessment of congruence between biodiversity patterns in Afrotropical forest birds and forest mammals

Ostrich, 2000

... patterns of various taxa are not strongly congruent (eg Crowe 1990; Ryti 1992; Siegfried &amp... more ... patterns of various taxa are not strongly congruent (eg Crowe 1990; Ryti 1992; Siegfried &amp;amp;amp; Brown 1992; Turpie &amp;amp;amp; Crowe 1994; Lombard 1995; Gelderblom et ... Forest Soricidea (shrews) and Megachiroptera (fruit bats) were defined by Rainer Hutterer and Dieter Kock respectively. ...

State of the World's Birds 2004: Indicators for Our Changing World compiled by Leon Bennun, Stuart Butchart, Jonathan Ekstrom, Michael Evans, Lincoln Fishpool, Rob Pople & Alison Stattersfield (2004), 73 pp., BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. ISBN 0 946888 50 7 (pbk), £10.00

Oryx, 2005

Into and out of the tropics: the generation of the latitudinal gradient among New World passerine birds

Journal of Biogeography, 2014

Aim One prominent explanation for the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity proposes that its prim... more Aim One prominent explanation for the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity proposes that its prime cause is the greater age and/or higher origination rates of tropical clades, and the infrequent or delayed dispersal of their component species into temperate regions. An alternative is that species' carrying capacities vary regionally, which influences rates of time-averaged diversification via ecological opportunity. We contrast these hypotheses, in order to assess potential historical influences upon the latitudinal gradient of New World passerine birds (order Passeriformes), comparing patterns among the two suborders present (oscines and suboscines), which are known to have had different routes of dispersal across the region.

Ecology and conservation of high-Andean Polylepis forests

Ecotropica

Phylogenetic relationships of typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) and test of incongruence based on Bayes factors

BMC evolutionary biology, Jan 30, 2004

The typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) form a monophyletic and diverse family of suboscine passeri... more The typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) form a monophyletic and diverse family of suboscine passerines that inhabit neotropical forests. However, the phylogenetic relationships within this assemblage are poorly understood. Herein, we present a hypothesis of the generic relationships of this group based on Bayesian inference analyses of two nuclear introns and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The level of phylogenetic congruence between the individual genes has been investigated utilizing Bayes factors. We also explore how changes in the substitution models affected the observed incongruence between partitions of our data set. The phylogenetic analysis supports both novel relationships, as well as traditional groupings. Among the more interesting novel relationship suggested is that the Terenura antwrens, the wing-banded antbird (Myrmornis torquata), the spot-winged antshrike (Pygiptila stellaris) and the russet antshrike (Thamnistes anabatinus) are sisters to all other typical ant...

The forest batis, Batis mixta , is two species: description of a new, narrowly distributed Batis species in the Eastern Arc biodiversity hotspot

Journal of Ornithology, 2006

The forest batis, Batis mixta, is a common bird of the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Ta... more The forest batis, Batis mixta, is a common bird of the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and in some adjacent montane and coastal forests. Through new collecting efforts in most of this range we documented a well-marked change in morphology in the middle of the range. Supplementary genetic studies of the historical population structure suggest connectivity among

Node-based analysis of species distributions

Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2014

1. The integration of species distributions and evolutionary relationships is one of the most rap... more 1. The integration of species distributions and evolutionary relationships is one of the most rapidly moving research fields today and has led to considerable advances in our understanding of the processes underlying biogeographical patterns. Here, we develop a set of metrics, the specific overrepresentation score (SOS) and the geographic node divergence (GND) score, which together combine ecological and evolutionary patterns into a single framework and avoids many of the problems that characterize community phylogenetic methods in current use.

A phylogeny for the Cisticolidae (Aves: Passeriformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, and a re-interpretation of an unique nest-building specialization

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2007

Based on some general similarities in feeding adaptations, a large number of Old World passerine ... more Based on some general similarities in feeding adaptations, a large number of Old World passerine birds were in the past lumped in one broad family, the Sylviidae. Recent molecular studies, starting with the DNA–DNA hybridization work by Sibley et al. [Sibley, C.G., Ahlquist, J.E., 1990. Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution, Yale University Press, New Haven,

Molecular Systematics and Evolutionary History of Akalats (Genus Sheppardia): A Pre-Pleistocene Radiation in a Group of African Forest Birds

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2001

The African forest robins (akalats) of the genus Sheppardia are represented by eight forest-dwell... more The African forest robins (akalats) of the genus Sheppardia are represented by eight forest-dwelling species with restricted distributions in tropical Africa. All but three are strictly montane, inhabiting isolated highland areas in eastern and western Africa. Due to their subtle plumage variation and almost wholly allopatric distribution, determining systematic relationships based upon morphology has proven difficult. However, akalats, due to

Phylogenetic relationships of the African bush-shrikes and helmet-shrikes (Passeriformes: Malaconotidae)

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2004

The African bush-shrikes and helmet-shrikes (Malaconotidae sensu [A Complete Checklist of the Bir... more The African bush-shrikes and helmet-shrikes (Malaconotidae sensu [A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, third ed., Helm Editions, London, 2003]) include 10 genera and 52 species of predatory passerine birds for which monophyly, sister-group, and inter-generic relationships are disputed. To resolve their relationships, we analyzed 2313bp of sequence data obtained from two nuclear introns (myoglobin intron-2, β-fibrinogen intron-5)

The African warbler genus Hyliota as a lost lineage in the Oscine songbird tree: Molecular support for an African origin of the Passerida

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2006

The African genus Hyliota includes three or four species of warbler-like birds of uncertain phylo... more The African genus Hyliota includes three or four species of warbler-like birds of uncertain phylogenetic affinities, as it has historically been placed in different avian families that are now known to represent unrelated lineages: Malaconotidae (bush-shrikes), Platysteiridae (batises and wattle-eyes), Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers) and Sylviidae (Old-World Warblers). To assess the affinities of Hyliota we sequenced a mitochondrial protein-coding gene

Phylogeny and historical biogeography of gnateaters (Passeriformes, Conopophagidae) in the South America forests

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2014

We inferred the phylogenetic relationships, divergence time and biogeography of Conopophagidae (g... more We inferred the phylogenetic relationships, divergence time and biogeography of Conopophagidae (gnateaters) based on sequence data of mitochondrial genes (ND2, ND3 and cytb) and nuclear introns (TGFB2 and G3PDH) from 45 tissue samples (43 Conopophaga and 2 Pittasoma) representing all currently recognized species of the family and the majority of subspecies. Phylogenetic relationships were estimated by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Divergence time estimates were obtained based on a Bayesian relaxed clock model. These chronograms were used to calculate diversification rates and reconstruct ancestral areas of the genus Conopophaga. The phylogenetic analyses support the reciprocal monophyly of the two genera, Conopophaga and Pittasoma. All species were monophyletic with the exception of C. lineata, as C. lineata cearae did not cluster with the other two C. lineata subspecies. Divergence time estimates for Conopophagidae suggested that diversification took place during the Neogene, and that the diversification rate within Conopophaga clade was highest in the late Miocene, followed by a slower diversification rate, suggesting a diversity-dependent pattern. Our analyses of the diversification of family Conopophagidae provided a scenario for evolution in Terra Firme forest across tropical South America. The spatio-temporal pattern suggests that Conopophaga originated in the Brazilian Shield and that a complex sequence of events possibly related to the Andean uplift and infilling of former sedimentation basins and erosion cycles shaped the current distribution and diversity of this genus.

Within-Host Speciation of Malaria Parasites

Plos One, 2007

Background. Sympatric speciation-the divergence of populations into new species in absence of geo... more Background. Sympatric speciation-the divergence of populations into new species in absence of geographic barriers to hybridization-is the most debated mode of diversification of life forms. Parasitic organisms are prominent models for sympatric speciation, because they may colonise new hosts within the same geographic area and diverge through host specialization. However, it has been argued that this mode of parasite divergence is not strict sympatric speciation, because host shifts likely cause the sudden effective isolation of parasites, particularly if these are transmitted by vectors and therefore cannot select their hosts. Strict sympatric speciation would involve parasite lineages diverging within a single host species, without any population subdivision. Methodology/Principal Findings. Here we report a case of extraordinary divergence of sympatric, ecologically distinct, and reproductively isolated malaria parasites within a single avian host species, which apparently occurred without historical or extant subdivision of parasite or host populations. Conclusions/Significance. This discovery of within-host speciation changes our current view on the diversification potential of malaria parasites, because neither geographic isolation of host populations nor colonization of new host species are any longer necessary conditions to the formation of new parasite species. Citation: Pérez-Tris J, Hellgren O, Križanauskienė A, Waldenströ m J, Secondi J, et al (2007) Within-Host Speciation of Malaria Parasites. PLoS ONE 2(2): e235.

Public Support for Conserving Bird Species Runs Counter to Climate Change Impacts on Their Distributions

Plos One, 2014

There is increasing evidence that global climate change will alter the spatiotemporal occurrences... more There is increasing evidence that global climate change will alter the spatiotemporal occurrences and abundances of many species at continental scales. This will have implications for efficient conservation of biodiversity. We investigate if the general public in Denmark are willing to pay for the preservation of birds potentially immigrating and establishing breeding populations due to climate change to the same extent that they are for native species populations currently breeding in Denmark, but potentially emigrating due to climate change. We find that Danish citizens are willing to pay much more for the conservation of birds currently native to Denmark, than for bird species moving into the country -even when they are informed about the potential range shifts associated with climate change. The only exception is when immigrating species populations are under pressure at European level. Furthermore, people believing climate change to be man-made and people more knowledgeable about birds tended to have higher WTP for conservation of native species, relative to other people, whereas their preferences for conserving immigrant species generally resembled those of other people. Conservation investments rely heavily on public funding and hence on public support. Our results suggest that crosscountry coordination of conservation efforts under climate change will be challenging in terms of achieving an appropriate balance between cost-effectiveness in adaptation and the concerns of a general public who seem mostly worried about protecting currently-native species.

Tracing 4000 years of environmental history in the Cuzco area, Peru, from the pollen record. Mountain Research and Development, 18 (2), 159-172.

by Alex Chepstow-Lusty and Jon Fjeldså

Polyphyletic origin of toxic Pitohui birds suggests widespread occurrence of toxicity in corvoid birds

by Jon Fjeldså and Les Christidis

Biology Letters, 2008

When two worlds collide: comparing human impact on fragile ecosystems before and after the Inca. Tawantinsuyu. 3, 127-134.

by Jon Fjeldså and Alex Chepstow-Lusty

Specialization in Plant-Hummingbird Networks Is Associated with Species Richness, Contemporary Precipitation and Quaternary Climate-Change Velocity

by Jeff Ollerton, Jon Fjeldså, Pete Cotton, Ivan Sazima, Jens-Christian Svenning, and Else Magård

PloS one, Jan 1, 2011

Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly ... more Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly understood, but it is widely believed that climate plays an important role in determining specialization. As climate-driven range dynamics should diminish local adaptations and favor generalization, one hypothesis is that contemporary biotic specialization is determined by the degree of past climatic instability, primarily Quaternary climate-change velocity. Other prominent hypotheses predict that either contemporary climate or species richness affect biotic specialization. To gain insight into geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization and its drivers, we use network analysis to determine the degree of specialization in plant-hummingbird mutualistic networks sampled at 31 localities, spanning a wide range of climate regimes across the Americas. We found greater biotic specialization at lower latitudes, with latitude explaining 20-22% of the spatial variation in plant-hummingbird specialization. Potential drivers of specialization -contemporary climate, Quaternary climate-change velocity, and species richness -had superior explanatory power, together explaining 53-64% of the variation in specialization. Notably, our data provides empirical evidence for the hypothesized roles of species richness, contemporary precipitation and Quaternary climate-change velocity as key predictors of biotic specialization, whereas contemporary temperature and seasonality seem unimportant in determining specialization. These results suggest that both ecological and evolutionary processes at Quaternary time scales can be important in driving large-scale geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization, at least for co-evolved systems such as plant-hummingbird networks.

Specialization in Plant-Hummingbird Networks Is Associated with Species Richness, Contemporary Precipitation and Quaternary Climate-Change Velocity

by Andréa Araujo, Jon Fjeldså, and Jeff Ollerton

PLoS ONE, 2011

Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly ... more Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly understood, but it is widely believed that climate plays an important role in determining specialization. As climate-driven range dynamics should diminish local adaptations and favor generalization, one hypothesis is that contemporary biotic specialization is determined by the degree of past climatic instability, primarily Quaternary climate-change velocity. Other prominent hypotheses predict that either contemporary climate or species richness affect biotic specialization. To gain insight into geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization and its drivers, we use network analysis to determine the degree of specialization in plant-hummingbird mutualistic networks sampled at 31 localities, spanning a wide range of climate regimes across the Americas. We found greater biotic specialization at lower latitudes, with latitude explaining 20-22% of the spatial variation in plant-hummingbird specialization. Potential drivers of specialization -contemporary climate, Quaternary climate-change velocity, and species richness -had superior explanatory power, together explaining 53-64% of the variation in specialization. Notably, our data provides empirical evidence for the hypothesized roles of species richness, contemporary precipitation and Quaternary climate-change velocity as key predictors of biotic specialization, whereas contemporary temperature and seasonality seem unimportant in determining specialization. These results suggest that both ecological and evolutionary processes at Quaternary time scales can be important in driving large-scale geographical patterns of contemporary biotic specialization, at least for co-evolved systems such as plant-hummingbird networks.

Journal of Ornithology - J ORNITHOL, 2000

A preliminary assessment of congruence between biodiversity patterns in Afrotropical forest birds and forest mammals

Ostrich, 2000

... patterns of various taxa are not strongly congruent (eg Crowe 1990; Ryti 1992; Siegfried &amp... more ... patterns of various taxa are not strongly congruent (eg Crowe 1990; Ryti 1992; Siegfried &amp;amp;amp; Brown 1992; Turpie &amp;amp;amp; Crowe 1994; Lombard 1995; Gelderblom et ... Forest Soricidea (shrews) and Megachiroptera (fruit bats) were defined by Rainer Hutterer and Dieter Kock respectively. ...

State of the World's Birds 2004: Indicators for Our Changing World compiled by Leon Bennun, Stuart Butchart, Jonathan Ekstrom, Michael Evans, Lincoln Fishpool, Rob Pople & Alison Stattersfield (2004), 73 pp., BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. ISBN 0 946888 50 7 (pbk), £10.00

Oryx, 2005

Into and out of the tropics: the generation of the latitudinal gradient among New World passerine birds

Journal of Biogeography, 2014

Aim One prominent explanation for the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity proposes that its prim... more Aim One prominent explanation for the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity proposes that its prime cause is the greater age and/or higher origination rates of tropical clades, and the infrequent or delayed dispersal of their component species into temperate regions. An alternative is that species' carrying capacities vary regionally, which influences rates of time-averaged diversification via ecological opportunity. We contrast these hypotheses, in order to assess potential historical influences upon the latitudinal gradient of New World passerine birds (order Passeriformes), comparing patterns among the two suborders present (oscines and suboscines), which are known to have had different routes of dispersal across the region.

Ecology and conservation of high-Andean Polylepis forests

Ecotropica

Phylogenetic relationships of typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) and test of incongruence based on Bayes factors

BMC evolutionary biology, Jan 30, 2004

The typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) form a monophyletic and diverse family of suboscine passeri... more The typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) form a monophyletic and diverse family of suboscine passerines that inhabit neotropical forests. However, the phylogenetic relationships within this assemblage are poorly understood. Herein, we present a hypothesis of the generic relationships of this group based on Bayesian inference analyses of two nuclear introns and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The level of phylogenetic congruence between the individual genes has been investigated utilizing Bayes factors. We also explore how changes in the substitution models affected the observed incongruence between partitions of our data set. The phylogenetic analysis supports both novel relationships, as well as traditional groupings. Among the more interesting novel relationship suggested is that the Terenura antwrens, the wing-banded antbird (Myrmornis torquata), the spot-winged antshrike (Pygiptila stellaris) and the russet antshrike (Thamnistes anabatinus) are sisters to all other typical ant...

The forest batis, Batis mixta , is two species: description of a new, narrowly distributed Batis species in the Eastern Arc biodiversity hotspot

Journal of Ornithology, 2006

The forest batis, Batis mixta, is a common bird of the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Ta... more The forest batis, Batis mixta, is a common bird of the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and in some adjacent montane and coastal forests. Through new collecting efforts in most of this range we documented a well-marked change in morphology in the middle of the range. Supplementary genetic studies of the historical population structure suggest connectivity among

Node-based analysis of species distributions

Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2014

1. The integration of species distributions and evolutionary relationships is one of the most rap... more 1. The integration of species distributions and evolutionary relationships is one of the most rapidly moving research fields today and has led to considerable advances in our understanding of the processes underlying biogeographical patterns. Here, we develop a set of metrics, the specific overrepresentation score (SOS) and the geographic node divergence (GND) score, which together combine ecological and evolutionary patterns into a single framework and avoids many of the problems that characterize community phylogenetic methods in current use.

A phylogeny for the Cisticolidae (Aves: Passeriformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, and a re-interpretation of an unique nest-building specialization

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2007

Based on some general similarities in feeding adaptations, a large number of Old World passerine ... more Based on some general similarities in feeding adaptations, a large number of Old World passerine birds were in the past lumped in one broad family, the Sylviidae. Recent molecular studies, starting with the DNA–DNA hybridization work by Sibley et al. [Sibley, C.G., Ahlquist, J.E., 1990. Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution, Yale University Press, New Haven,

Molecular Systematics and Evolutionary History of Akalats (Genus Sheppardia): A Pre-Pleistocene Radiation in a Group of African Forest Birds

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2001

The African forest robins (akalats) of the genus Sheppardia are represented by eight forest-dwell... more The African forest robins (akalats) of the genus Sheppardia are represented by eight forest-dwelling species with restricted distributions in tropical Africa. All but three are strictly montane, inhabiting isolated highland areas in eastern and western Africa. Due to their subtle plumage variation and almost wholly allopatric distribution, determining systematic relationships based upon morphology has proven difficult. However, akalats, due to

Phylogenetic relationships of the African bush-shrikes and helmet-shrikes (Passeriformes: Malaconotidae)

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2004

The African bush-shrikes and helmet-shrikes (Malaconotidae sensu [A Complete Checklist of the Bir... more The African bush-shrikes and helmet-shrikes (Malaconotidae sensu [A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, third ed., Helm Editions, London, 2003]) include 10 genera and 52 species of predatory passerine birds for which monophyly, sister-group, and inter-generic relationships are disputed. To resolve their relationships, we analyzed 2313bp of sequence data obtained from two nuclear introns (myoglobin intron-2, β-fibrinogen intron-5)

The African warbler genus Hyliota as a lost lineage in the Oscine songbird tree: Molecular support for an African origin of the Passerida

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2006

The African genus Hyliota includes three or four species of warbler-like birds of uncertain phylo... more The African genus Hyliota includes three or four species of warbler-like birds of uncertain phylogenetic affinities, as it has historically been placed in different avian families that are now known to represent unrelated lineages: Malaconotidae (bush-shrikes), Platysteiridae (batises and wattle-eyes), Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers) and Sylviidae (Old-World Warblers). To assess the affinities of Hyliota we sequenced a mitochondrial protein-coding gene

Phylogeny and historical biogeography of gnateaters (Passeriformes, Conopophagidae) in the South America forests

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2014

We inferred the phylogenetic relationships, divergence time and biogeography of Conopophagidae (g... more We inferred the phylogenetic relationships, divergence time and biogeography of Conopophagidae (gnateaters) based on sequence data of mitochondrial genes (ND2, ND3 and cytb) and nuclear introns (TGFB2 and G3PDH) from 45 tissue samples (43 Conopophaga and 2 Pittasoma) representing all currently recognized species of the family and the majority of subspecies. Phylogenetic relationships were estimated by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Divergence time estimates were obtained based on a Bayesian relaxed clock model. These chronograms were used to calculate diversification rates and reconstruct ancestral areas of the genus Conopophaga. The phylogenetic analyses support the reciprocal monophyly of the two genera, Conopophaga and Pittasoma. All species were monophyletic with the exception of C. lineata, as C. lineata cearae did not cluster with the other two C. lineata subspecies. Divergence time estimates for Conopophagidae suggested that diversification took place during the Neogene, and that the diversification rate within Conopophaga clade was highest in the late Miocene, followed by a slower diversification rate, suggesting a diversity-dependent pattern. Our analyses of the diversification of family Conopophagidae provided a scenario for evolution in Terra Firme forest across tropical South America. The spatio-temporal pattern suggests that Conopophaga originated in the Brazilian Shield and that a complex sequence of events possibly related to the Andean uplift and infilling of former sedimentation basins and erosion cycles shaped the current distribution and diversity of this genus.

Within-Host Speciation of Malaria Parasites

Plos One, 2007

Background. Sympatric speciation-the divergence of populations into new species in absence of geo... more Background. Sympatric speciation-the divergence of populations into new species in absence of geographic barriers to hybridization-is the most debated mode of diversification of life forms. Parasitic organisms are prominent models for sympatric speciation, because they may colonise new hosts within the same geographic area and diverge through host specialization. However, it has been argued that this mode of parasite divergence is not strict sympatric speciation, because host shifts likely cause the sudden effective isolation of parasites, particularly if these are transmitted by vectors and therefore cannot select their hosts. Strict sympatric speciation would involve parasite lineages diverging within a single host species, without any population subdivision. Methodology/Principal Findings. Here we report a case of extraordinary divergence of sympatric, ecologically distinct, and reproductively isolated malaria parasites within a single avian host species, which apparently occurred without historical or extant subdivision of parasite or host populations. Conclusions/Significance. This discovery of within-host speciation changes our current view on the diversification potential of malaria parasites, because neither geographic isolation of host populations nor colonization of new host species are any longer necessary conditions to the formation of new parasite species. Citation: Pérez-Tris J, Hellgren O, Križanauskienė A, Waldenströ m J, Secondi J, et al (2007) Within-Host Speciation of Malaria Parasites. PLoS ONE 2(2): e235.

Public Support for Conserving Bird Species Runs Counter to Climate Change Impacts on Their Distributions

Plos One, 2014

There is increasing evidence that global climate change will alter the spatiotemporal occurrences... more There is increasing evidence that global climate change will alter the spatiotemporal occurrences and abundances of many species at continental scales. This will have implications for efficient conservation of biodiversity. We investigate if the general public in Denmark are willing to pay for the preservation of birds potentially immigrating and establishing breeding populations due to climate change to the same extent that they are for native species populations currently breeding in Denmark, but potentially emigrating due to climate change. We find that Danish citizens are willing to pay much more for the conservation of birds currently native to Denmark, than for bird species moving into the country -even when they are informed about the potential range shifts associated with climate change. The only exception is when immigrating species populations are under pressure at European level. Furthermore, people believing climate change to be man-made and people more knowledgeable about birds tended to have higher WTP for conservation of native species, relative to other people, whereas their preferences for conserving immigrant species generally resembled those of other people. Conservation investments rely heavily on public funding and hence on public support. Our results suggest that crosscountry coordination of conservation efforts under climate change will be challenging in terms of achieving an appropriate balance between cost-effectiveness in adaptation and the concerns of a general public who seem mostly worried about protecting currently-native species.