Phylogenetic comparative analysis of functional morphology sheds light on the evolution of seasonal migration in nightingale-thrushes (Turdidae: Catharus).

ABSTRACT: This study investigates the evolution of locomotory morphology and migratory behavior in nightingale-thrushes (genus Catharus), a clade of songbirds with diverse migratory strategies. With large datasets of molecular and morphometric characters, we resolve phylogenetic relationships, identify and model migration-related morphological characters, and estimate ancestral states of those characters to infer evolutionary transitions in the migratory phenotype. While acknowledging that unknown factors (e.g., differential extinction) may confound interpretation, our results suggest that (1) migratory behavior and its functional morphology are fundamentally linked; (2) short-distance or elevational migration (not long-distance) was the ancestral state of Catharus; (3) short-distance migration was

SUBMITTER: Halley MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12271567 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature