Mega-evolutionary dynamics of the adaptive radiation of birds

Christopher R. Cooney, Jen A. Bright, Elliot J. R. Capp, Angela M. Chira, Emma C. Hughes, Christopher J. A. Moody, Lara O. Nouri, Zoë K. Varley and Gavin H. Thomas ()
Additional contact information
Christopher R. Cooney: University of Sheffield
Jen A. Bright: University of Sheffield
Elliot J. R. Capp: University of Sheffield
Angela M. Chira: University of Sheffield
Emma C. Hughes: University of Sheffield
Christopher J. A. Moody: University of Sheffield
Lara O. Nouri: University of Sheffield
Zoë K. Varley: University of Sheffield
Gavin H. Thomas: University of Sheffield

Nature, 2017, vol. 542, issue 7641, 344-347

Abstract: A study of more than 2,000 bird species shows that diversity in bill shape expands towards extreme morphologies early in avian evolution in a series of major jumps, before switching to a second phase in which bills repeatedly evolve similar shapes by subdividing increasingly tight regions of already occupied niche space.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/nature21074

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