scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Topic

Hemignathus

About: Hemignathus is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9 publications have been published within this topic receiving 217 citations.

Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 1993-The Auk
TL;DR: Genetic distances and the pattern of relationships among amakihi taxa indicate that species status for H. v. chloris and H. stejnegeri may be warranted, and the relationships within the chloris-stejnegersi-parvus clade generally are consistent with the previously proposed model of double invasion.
Abstract: AssRAcT.-An analysis of restriction-site variation in mitochondrial DNA was conducted to examine relationships among five taxa in one group of honeycreepers-the amakihi complex (genus Hemignathus). We analyzed 35 ingroup and 3 outgroup samples. Tree topologies, based on both distance and parsimony methods, grouped taxa into two distinct lineages: the virens-wilsoni lineage; and the chloris-stejnegeri-parvus group. Inter-island sequence divergence (average d,X = 0.0368) is considerably higher than intra-island variation (mean d, = 0.0035), and is higher than average for avian species. Variability (measured as both nucleotide diversity and maximum divergence between haplotypes) differs among island populations. Molecular evolutionary rates were calibrated on the basis of maximum island age estimates; sequence divergence in this lineage is approximately 2% per million years. The relationships within the chloris-stejnegeri-parvus clade generally are consistent with the previously proposed model of double invasion. Genetic distances and the pattern of relationships among amakihi taxa indicate that species status for H. v. chloris and H. v. stejnegeri may be warranted. Received 15

126 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: 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.
Abstract: Natural 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 (Oreomystis mana), a bird that in a suite of morphological, ecological and behavioural traits closely resembles the Kauai creeper (Oreomystis bairdi), but whose mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and osteology suggest a relationship with the amakihis (Hemignathus in part) and akepas (Loxops). 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.

30 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Because the Alaka'i studies were seminal in the development of the current AOU classification of Hawaiian native passerines, they defend that classification against recent challenges and further refine it.
Abstract: We observed, tape recorded, and photographed birds of the Alaka'i Plateau on Kaua'i, Hawai'i for one week during the summer of 1975. We observed all but one of the island's historically known species and compared the Alaka'i Plateau with the more accessible Koke'e area. Ours were the last studies before catastrophic changes in the Kaua'i avifauna and included many observations that cannot now be repeated. This retrospective report presents our findings in the light of subsequent events. Because our Alaka'i studies were seminal in the development of the current AOU classification of Hawaiian native passerines, we defend that classification against recent challenges and further refine it. The controversial genus Hemignathus is shown to be supported by a suite of synapomorphies of plumage, bill morphology, and vocalizations. We advocate removal of the 'Anianiau from Hemignathus and classify it as Magumma parva. Our studies of foraging behavior and vocalizations support the recent recognition of the Kaua'i 'Amakihi (H. kauaiensis) as a separate species and suggest that the 'Elepaio (Chasiempis) is best split into three species (sckzteri, ibidis, and sandwichensis). Major hurricanes in 1983 and 1992 appear to have severely impacted Alaka'i bird populations with the subsequent extinction of the Kaua'i '0'0 (Moho braccatus) and possibly the Kama'o (Myadestes myadestinus), and the island population of 'O'u (Psittirostra psittacea). We report some of the last natural history observations on these species. Formerly adaptive strategies for storm survival, including taking refuge in valleys, are no longer effective because the lowlands are now infested with mosquito-borne avian diseases. The Puaiohi (M. palmen'), a ravine specialist, suffered less from the storms although its population remains perilously low. Other forest birds, especially the 'Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi), show noticeable declines since 1975. We speculate that intro- duced organisms such as alien plants can have a deleterious effect on ecosystems by altering feeding methods of birds even in areas where the weeds do not occur. We caution against the overly conservative use of species- level taxa for setting conservation priorities on remote islands. Received 24 October 19%, accepted 27 June 1997.

29 citations

01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: From a review of evidence concerning dates of pub- lication, it is concluded that for nomenclatural purposes Hemignathus and Het- erorhynchus were pubUshed simultaneously and HemignATHus has precedence according to the first reviser principle.
Abstract: Storrs L. Olson and Helen F. James Etepartment of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A Abstract.•The generic names Hemignathus Lichtenstein, 1839, and Het- erorhynchus Lafresnaye, 1839, often used for the akialoas and the nukupuus, respectively, have the same type species {Hemignathus lucidus) so ifthe akialoas are given the status of a separate genus or subgenus, there is no generic-level name available for them. From a review of evidence concerning dates of pub- lication we conclude that for nomenclatural purposes Hemignathus and Het- erorhynchus were pubUshed simultaneously and Hemignathus has precedence according to the first reviser principle. The correct citation for the Oahu Akialoa is shown to be Drepanis ellisiana G. R. Gray (1859) rather than Hemignathus lichtensteini Wilson (1889). The name Hemignathus stejnegeri Wilson (1889) has priority over H. procerus Cabanis (1890) and is restored for the Kauai Akialoa. As no other name is available for akialoas, the new generic name Akialoa is proposed here (type species Certhia obscura Gmelin). The new names resulting from these nomenclatural changes are listed. In the spectacular Hawaiian radiation of cardueline finches of the tribe Drepanidini, there are few more distinctive birds than the akialoas and nukupuus, which consti- tute the genus Hemignathus in the sense of Amadon (1950) and other authors, before and after him. The akialoas comprise five named taxa (one fossil) of medium-sized to large drepanidines with very long, decurved bills, the upper and lower parts ofwhich are ofnearly equal length (Fig. 1). Similar prob- ing bills have evolved in various other groups of arboreal birds such as the babblers {Xiphirhynchus: Timaliidae), sunbirds {Ar- achnothera: Nectariniidae), woodcreepers (Campyloramphus: Dendrocolaptidae), and the woodhoopoes (Phoeniculidae). In the nukupuus (four named taxa, including the akiapolaau oiHav/au•Heterorhynchus wil- soni Rothschild), the upper jaw is likewise prolonged into a long, decurved probe, but the lower is much shorter (Fig. 1) and is used for pounding, prying, and pecking. The bill morphology of nukupuus is unique and has no parallel among other birds. Unfortunately, upon these birds are heaped some of the most convoluted no- menclatural problems, at both the generic and specific levels, to be found in any group of Hawaiian birds. Numerous authors, par- ticularly in the earlier literature, maintained Hemignathus and Heterorhynchus as dis- tinct genera (e.g., Rothschild 1893d, Bryan 1901). Since the revision of Amadon (1950), however, Heterorhynchus has usually been treated as a subgenus oi Hemignathus (e.g., Greenway 1968, American Ornithologists' Union 1983). As we shall see, this is no- menclaturally incorrect, as both generic names have the same type species. Pratt (1979) greatly expanded the genus Hemignathus by including in it the ama- kihis (Loxops virens, L. parva, and L. sag- ittirostris sensu Amadon 1950), which he placed in the subgenus Viridonia Rothschild 1892). At the same time he continued to

15 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2003-The Auk
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.

8 citations

Network Information
Related Topics (5)
Euplectes progne
6 papers, 924 citations
95% related
Zapus trinotatus
9 papers, 532 citations
95% related
New Zealand wren
6 papers, 593 citations
95% related
Polychrotinae
7 papers, 462 citations
94% related
Selenidera
4 papers, 377 citations
94% related
Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20191
20161
20091
20031
19981
19951