Open AccessVariation in insulative feather structure in songbirds replacing each other along a tropical elevation gradient
Author(s) -
Barve Sahas,
Cadena Carlos Daniel
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.8698
Subject(s) - plumage , feather , elevation (ballistics) , subspecies , ecology , biology , adaptation (eye) , geography , taxon , zoology , geometry , mathematics , neuroscience
Abstract High‐elevation organisms are expected to evolve physiological adaptations to cope with harsh environmental conditions. Yet, evidence for such adaptive differences, especially compared to closely related lowland taxa occurring along the same elevational gradient, is rare. Revisiting an anecdotal natural history observation by O. Bangs from 1899 and based on new measurements of museum specimens, we confirmed that the high‐elevation hermit wood wren ( Henicorhina anachoreta ) from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, has longer, more insulative feathers on the chest and back, than its lower‐elevation counterpart the grey‐breasted wood wren ( H . leucophrys ). However, we did not find evidence for the same specializations in subspecies of H . leucophrys that live at high elevations on other elevational gradients in the Colombian Andes, although similar adaptive solutions have arisen in separate mountain systems like the Himalayas. Adaptations in plumage may be associated with the recurrence of elevational species replacements throughout the tropics.