Convergent morphological responses to loss of flight in rails (Aves: Rallidae).

ABSTRACT: The physiological demands of flight exert strong selection pressure on avian morphology and so it is to be expected that the evolutionary loss of flight capacity would involve profound changes in traits. Here, we investigate morphological consequences of flightlessness in a bird family where the condition has evolved repeatedly. The Rallidae include more than 130 recognized species of which over 30 are flightless. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic data were used here to compare species with and without the ability to fly in order to determine major phenotypic effects of the transition from flighted to flightless. We find statistical support for similar morphological response among unrelated flightless lineages, characterized by a shift in energy allocation from the forelimbs to the

SUBMITTER: Gaspar J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7381585 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature