Parallel adaptations to nectarivory in parrots, key innovations and the diversification of the Loriinae.

ABSTRACT: Specialization to nectarivory is associated with radiations within different bird groups, including parrots. One of them, the Australasian lories, were shown to be unexpectedly species rich. Their shift to nectarivory may have created an ecological opportunity promoting species proliferation. Several morphological specializations of the feeding tract to nectarivory have been described for parrots. However, they have never been assessed in a quantitative framework considering phylogenetic nonindependence. Using a phylogenetic comparative approach with broad taxon sampling and 15 continuous characters of the digestive tract, we demonstrate that nectarivorous parrots differ in several traits from the remaining parrots. These trait-changes indicate phenotype-environment correlations and parall

SUBMITTER: Schweizer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4130445 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature