Geographic mode of speciation in a mountain specialist Avian family endemic to the Palearctic.

ABSTRACT: Mountains host greater avian diversity than lowlands at the same latitude due to their greater diversity of habitats stratified along an elevation gradient. Here we test whether this greater ecological heterogeneity promotes sympatric speciation. We selected accentors (Prunellidae), an avian family associated with mountains of the Palearctic, as a model system. Accentors differ in their habitat/elevation preferences and south-central Siberia and Himalayan regions each host 6 of the 13 species in the family. We used sequences of the mtDNA ND2 gene and the intron 9 of the Z chromosome specific ACO1 gene to reconstruct a complete species-level phylogeny of Prunellidae. The tree based on joint analysis of both loci was used to reconstruct the family's biogeographic history and to date the dive

SUBMITTER: Drovetski SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3686188 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature