A multi-locus inference of the evolutionary diversification of extant flamingos (Phoenicopteridae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Modern flamingos (Phoenicopteridae) occupy a highly specialized ecology unique among birds and represent a potentially powerful model system for informing the mechanisms by which a lineage of birds adapts and radiates. However, despite a rich fossil record and well-studied feeding morphology, molecular investigations of the evolutionary progression among modern flamingos have been limited. Here, using three mitochondrial (mtDNA) markers, we present the first DNA sequence-based study of population genetic variation in the widely distributed Chilean Flamingo and, using two mtDNA and 10 nuclear (nDNA) markers, recover the species tree and divergence time estimates for the six extant species of flamingos. Phylogenetic analyses include likelihood and Bayesian frameworks and a

SUBMITTER: Torres CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4016592 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature