Niche shifts after island colonization spurred adaptive diversification and speciation in a cosmopolitan bird clade.

ABSTRACT: Islands have long been recognized as key contributors to biodiversity because they facilitate geographic isolation and ecological divergence from mainland ancestors. However, island colonization has traditionally been considered an evolutionary dead-end process, and its consequences for continental biodiversity remain understudied. Here, we use the evolutionary radiation of Columbiformes (i.e. pigeons and doves) to examine if ecological niche shifts on islands shaped biological diversification and community composition on continents. We show that the colonization of islands by continental, terrestrial-foraging lineages led to the exploitation of a new ecological niche (i.e. arboreal foraging). This transition towards arboreal foraging was associated with evolutionary adaptation towards a n

SUBMITTER: Lapiedra O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8437225 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature