Convergent evolution of 'creepers' in the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation
- Author:
- Fleischer, Robert C., Foster, Jeffrey T., James, Helen F., Pratt, H. Douglas, Reding, Dawn M.
- Title:
- Convergent evolution of 'creepers' in the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation
- Periodical:
- Biology Letters
- Year:
- 2009
- Volume:
- 5
- Pages:
- 221-224
- Subject:
- Adaptive radiation (Evolution) Genetics Hawaiʻi Creeper Hawaiian honeycreepers Oreomystis mana
- Summary:
- Hawaiʻi creeper resembles Kauai creeper in morphological, ecological and behavioral traits, but its mitochondrial DNA and osteology suggest a relationship with the ʻamakihis and ʻakepas. The study found no evidence of past hybridization and confirmed Hawaiʻi creeper is most closely related to the ʻamakihis and ʻakepas. Thus, the morphological, ecological and behavioral similarities between the evolutionarily distant Hawaiʻi and Kauai creepers represent an extreme example of convergent evolution and demonstrate how natural selection can lead to repeatable evolutionary outcomes.
- Label:
- Birds - General
- URL:
- http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/2/221
- Date:
- 2009
- Collection:
- Periodicals