A giant new species of nukupuu (fringillidae: drepanidini: hemignathus) from the island of hawaii
TL;DR: A new species of drepanidine bird from a fossil found in a lava tube cave on the island of Hawaii, which appears to be adapted to probing in cracks or crevices and possibly to moving loose material, such as leaf detritus, to obtain invertebrate prey.
Abstract: We describe a new species of drepanidine bird from a fossil found in a lava tube cave on the island of Hawaii. The bill of the new species combines a long, scimitar-like maxillary rostrum with a much shorter mandibular rostrum, giving the bird a most unusual appearance. The general bill form is shared with members of the drepanidine genus Hemignathus, to which the new species is referred, although it is quite distinct from other species of Hemignathus in aspects of its bill morphology and in its much larger body size. The scimitar-like maxilla appears to be adapted to probing in cracks or crevices and possibly to moving loose material, such as leaf detritus, to obtain invertebrate prey. The species became extinct <3,000 years ago.
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01 Mar 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that an "excess of opportunity" clearly contradicts the lack-of-utility hypothesis because in evolutionary terms tool use appears to be potentially much more useful than its frequency in the animal kingdom indicates.
Abstract: Introduction Tool use is widespread in the animal kingdom. It has been reported in taxa ranging from insects to primates (see reviews in Beck, 1980; Bentley-Condit & Smith, 2010; Shumaker et al ., 2011). However, although it is taxonomically widespread, tool use is relatively rare. The rarity of tool use is surprising given the potential evolutionary advantages that a species can gain. Tools can be used to extract rich food sources such as termites and wood-boring larvae that would otherwise be extremely difficult to obtain. Given the obvious advantages of tool use, an equally obvious question is why tool use is seen in very few species. A glance across the species that use objects as tools rules out any simple association between the presence or absence of tool use and level of cognitive ability. Tool use is seen in insects, marine invertebrates and fish, as well as in birds and mammals. Indeed, Jane Goodall (1970) recognized that the evolutionary processes underpinning tool use across the animal kingdom will be very different. Beck (1980) emphasized that there was no simple correlation between the presence of tool use and cognitive abilities. Hansell and Ruxton (2008) recently proposed another possible explanation for the rarity of tool use in animals – that tool use was rare simply because of the lack of ecological contexts in which it was advantageous (we call this the lack-of-utility hypothesis). However, we will show here that an “excess of opportunity” clearly contradicts the lack-of-utility hypothesis because in evolutionary terms tool use appears to be potentially much more useful than its frequency in the animal kingdom indicates. Given its potential usefulness, why is tool use so rare?
64 citations
TL;DR: The monophyly and phylogeny of the adaptive radiation of Hawaiian finches were studied using parsimony analysis of comparative osteology and Templeton tests of alternative phylogenetic hypotheses, providing a framework for incorporating morphological and palaeontological information in evolutionary studies of the Drepanidini.
Abstract: The monophyly and phylogeny of the adaptive radiation of Hawaiian finches (Fringillidae: Drepanidini; honeycreepers, auct.) were studied using parsimony analysis of comparative osteology, combined with Templeton (Wilcoxon signed-ranks) tests of alternative phylogenetic hypotheses. Eighty-four osteological characters were scored in 59 terminal taxa of drepanidines, including 24 fossil forms, and in 30 outgroup species. The optimal phylogenetic trees show considerable agreement, and some conflict, with independently derived ideas about drepanidine evolution. The monophyly of a large Hawaiian radiation was upheld, although one fossil taxon from Maui fell outside the drepanidine clade. The finch-billed species were placed as basal drepanidine taxa, and continental cardueline finches (Carduelini) were identified as the radiation’s closest outgroups. The study found anatomical as well as phylogenetic evidence that the radiation had a finch-billed ancestor. The optimal trees identify the red-and-black plumage group as a clade, and suggest that the tubular tongue evolved only once in the radiation. Because comparative osteology provides too few characters to strongly support all the nodes of the tree, it was helpful to evaluate statistical support for alternative hypotheses about drepanidine relationships using the Templeton test. Among the alternatives that received significant statistical support are a relationship of the drepanidines with cardueline finches rather than with the Neotropical honeycreepers (Thraupini), classification of the controversial genera Paroreomyza and Melamprosops as drepanidines, and a secondary loss of the tubular tongue in Loxops mana. The hypothesis of monophyly for all the Hawaiian taxa in the study was not rejected statistically. The study provides a framework for incorporating morphological and palaeontological information in evolutionary studies of the Drepanidini. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 141, 207‐255. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: adaptive radiation ‐ comparative anatomy ‐ evolution ‐ fossils ‐ Hawaiian honeycreepers ‐ island biogeography ‐ morphology ‐ palaeontology ‐ Passeriformes.
62 citations
TL;DR: The genetic homogeneity within this clade suggests a late Pleistocene range expansion at a time when today's montane forest types existed at lower elevati...
Abstract: The Slate-throated Redstart (Myioborus miniatus) is a common warbler of montane forests from northern Mexico to Argentina. We examined phylogenetic structure and plumage pattern in relation to subspecific taxonomy across the broad geographic range of this species. Phylogenetic analysis of two complete mitochondrial protein-coding genes (subunits 2 and 3 of NADH dehydrogenase) from 36 individuals, representing 10 of the 12 subspecies, revealed four clades, three of which showed general concordance with subspecific classification. However, in a Central American clade, four subspecies (hellmayri, connectens, comptus, and aurantiacus) could not be resolved by the molecular phylogenetic analysis, even though populations of hellmayri and connectens are currently geographically isolated from those of comptus and aurantiacus by the Nicaraguan lowlands. The genetic homogeneity within this clade suggests a late Pleistocene range expansion at a time when today's montane forest types existed at lower elevati...
36 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that Talpanas had reduced visual abilities, as reflected externally by its small orbits and optic foramen, and a grossly hypertrophied trigeminal foramen that suggests that the species was flightless, as were many other insular waterfowl.
Abstract: Talpanas lippa is described as a new genus and species of waterfowl from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands, that is unlike any other known member of the order. It is characterized by a short, stout tarsometatarsus and a braincase that is shallow and wide relative to its length with very small orbits. In comparison with extant species, the optic foramen of Talpanas is remarkably small whereas the maxillo-mandibular foramen, which is the exit point of the trigeminal nerve, is grossly enlarged. Relative to skull length and foramen magnum area, the maxillo-mandibular foramen is one order of magnitude larger in cross-sectional area than that of extant Anseriformes. We conclude that Talpanas had reduced visual abilities, as reflected externally by its small orbits and optic foramen, and a grossly hypertrophied trigeminal foramen. Taken together, this suggests that Talpanas may have been more heavily reliant upon somatosensory (tactile) cues for foraging than any living species of bird. Pectoral elements are unknown, but the evident lack of keen eyesight suggests that the species was flightless, as were many other insular waterfowl.
26 citations
Cites background from "A giant new species of nukupuu (fri..."
...The fossil record has greatly enriched the known diversity of birds in the islands, with at least 39 new species having been documented from deposits throughout the archipelago (Olson & James 1982, 1991; James & Olson 1991, 2003, 2005, 2006)....
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TL;DR: On small islands, hyperpredation emerges as the most plausible process to explain the disappearance of the Lava mouse in the absence of rat populations, although stochastic processes can not be definitively excluded.
Abstract: The Lava mouse (Malpaisomys insularis), and the Canarian shrew (Crocidura canariensis) are endemic of the Eastern Canary Islands and islets The former is extinct while Canarian shrew survives in t
18 citations
Cites background from "A giant new species of nukupuu (fri..."
...Archipelagos with islands that differ in geography, distance to mainland and faunal composition are ideal systems to tackle questions of adaptive radiation (Grant and Grant, 2007; James and Olson, 1991, 2003; Losos, 2009; Losos and Ricklefs, 2009; MacPhee and Flemming, 1999)....
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References
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23 Jan 1991
TL;DR: Part 1: a brief history structure and properties of DNA gene structure and function genetic regulation DNA reassociation and thermal stability the sequence organization of the genome
Abstract: Part 1: a brief history structure and properties of DNA gene structure and function genetic regulation DNA reassociation and thermal stability the sequence organization of the genome the families of repeated DNA homology comparative DNA-DNA studies materials and methods data analysis tempo of evolution demographic factors and rates of DNA evolution a chronological survey of the classification of birds principles and methods of classification classification of birds based on DNA-DNA hybridization melting curves and dendrograms. Part 2: accounts of the groups of birds.
1,622 citations
306 citations
TL;DR: It is confirmed that the prehuman lowlands of dry leeward Kaua’i included plants and animals previously known only in wetter and cooler habitats, and efforts to restore lowland areas in the Hawaiian Islands must take into account the evidence from this study.
Abstract: Coring and excavations in a large sinkhole and cave system formed in an eolianite deposit on the south coast of Kaua‘i in the Hawaiian Islands reveal a fossil site with remarkable preservation and diversity of plant and animal remains. Radiocarbon dating and investigations of the sediments and their fossil contents, including diatoms, invertebrate shells, vertebrate bones, pollen, and plant macrofossils, provide a more complete picture of prehuman ecological conditions in the Hawaiian lowlands than has been previously available. The evidence confirms that a highly diverse prehuman landscape has been completely transformed, with the decline or extirpation of most native species and their replacement with introduced species.
The stratigraphy documents many late Holocene extinctions, including previously undescribed species, and suggests that the pattern of extirpation for snails occurred in three temporal stages, corresponding to initial settlement, late prehistoric, and historic impacts. The site also records land-use changes of recent centuries, including evidence for deforestation, overgrazing, and soil erosion during the historic period, and biological invasion during both the Polynesian and historic periods. Human artifacts and midden materials demonstrate a high-density human presence near the site for the last four centuries. Earlier evidence for humans includes a bone of the prehistorically introduced Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) dating to 822 yr BP (calendar year [cal yr] AD 1039–1241).
Vegetation at the site before human arrival consisted of a herbaceous component with strand plants and graminoids, and a woody component that included trees and shrubs now mostly restricted to a few higher, wetter, and less disturbed parts of the island. Efforts to restore lowland areas in the Hawaiian Islands must take into account the evidence from this study that the prehuman lowlands of dry leeward Kaua‘i included plants and animals previously known only in wetter and cooler habitats. Many species may be restricted to high elevations today primarily because these remote locations have, by virtue of their difficult topography and climate, resisted most human-induced changes more effectively than the coastal lowlands.
225 citations