Allometric conservatism in the evolution of bird beaks.

ABSTRACT: Evolution can involve periods of rapid divergent adaptation and expansion in the range of diversity, but evolution can also be relatively conservative over certain timescales due to functional, genetic-developmental, and ecological constraints. One way in which evolution may be conservative is in terms of allometry, the scaling relationship between the traits of organisms and body size. Here, we investigate patterns of allometric conservatism in the evolution of bird beaks with beak size and body size data for a representative sample of over 5000 extant bird species within a phylogenetic framework. We identify clades in which the allometric relationship between beak size and body size has remained relatively conserved across species over millions to tens of millions of years. We find that

SUBMITTER: Rombaut LMK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8802239 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature