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Correlates of rate heterogeneity in avian ecomorphological traits
Author(s) -
Chira A. M.,
Cooney C. R.,
Bright J. A.,
Capp E. J. R.,
Hughes E. C.,
Moody C. J. A.,
Nouri L. O.,
Varley Z. K.,
Thomas G. H.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13131
Subject(s) - biology , trait , ecology , ecomorphology , niche , macroevolution , clade , ecological niche , adaptive radiation , rate of evolution , range (aeronautics) , species richness , phylogenetic comparative methods , beak , evolutionary biology , divergence (linguistics) , life history theory , phylogenetics , life history , habitat , gene , biochemistry , linguistics , materials science , philosophy , computer science , composite material , programming language
Heterogeneity in rates of trait evolution is widespread, but it remains unclear which processes drive fast and slow character divergence across global radiations. Here, we test multiple hypotheses for explaining rate variation in an ecomorphological trait (beak shape) across a globally distributed group (birds). We find low support that variation in evolutionary rates of species is correlated with life history, environmental mutagenic factors, range size, number of competitors, or living on islands. Indeed, after controlling for the negative effect of species' age, 80% of variation in species‐specific evolutionary rates remains unexplained. At the clade level, high evolutionary rates are associated with unusual phenotypes or high species richness. Taken together, these results imply that macroevolutionary rates of ecomorphological traits are governed by both ecological opportunity in distinct adaptive zones and niche differentiation among closely related species.