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Morphological evolution of birds recently introduced to islands
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Morphological evolution of birds recently introduced to islands
SubTitle
patterns of diversification
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ETD_2406
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.000052136
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eng
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theses
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Ecology and Evolution
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Birds--Morphology
Abstract
Evolution was originally considered to be observable only over geological time scales. It has recently become apparent that evolutionary changes can be detected over contemporary time periods. Exotic species often experience intense selection, making them good model systems for investigating evolutionary changes over contemporary time. We often know details of the introductions, such as exact time, location of the source population, founding propagule size, and establishment history. These details allow us to formulate hypotheses concerning the evolutionary changes expected in these species' exotic ranges.
I examined contemporary morphological evolution of passerine birds introduced to islands. Passerine birds have been introduced to many islands world-wide, making them conducive for examining patterns of insular evolution. In chapters one and two, I evaluated whether these species conform to the Island Rule, an ecogeographic rule based on the study of native insular species. It states that, on islands, small species should increase in body size while large species should decrease body size. All of the species I studied are small, therefore they were expected to increase in body size. I found equivocal results concerning the Island Rule. In chapter one, I found that the great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) follows the Island Rule, as it is larger in its exotic island range than in the native source range. However, in chapter two, I found no clear Island Rule pattern examining 39 insular populations. However, I did find a clear pattern of decrease in wing length and increase in tail length. Although these populations may not be following an overall Island Rule pattern, they are still adapting to their exotic environments. In chapter three, I evaluated among-island diversification of six passerine species introduced to the Hawaiian archipelago. Five of these six species show some morphological differentiation between islands, and at least some of this differentiation cannot be accounted for by genetic drift.
The results of this dissertation provide further support for the idea that evolutionary divergence can happen over contemporary time scales. The passerine bird populations examined in these chapters have adapted to local conditions, giving us insights into the genesis of evolutionary diversity.
I examined contemporary morphological evolution of passerine birds introduced to islands. Passerine birds have been introduced to many islands world-wide, making them conducive for examining patterns of insular evolution. In chapters one and two, I evaluated whether these species conform to the Island Rule, an ecogeographic rule based on the study of native insular species. It states that, on islands, small species should increase in body size while large species should decrease body size. All of the species I studied are small, therefore they were expected to increase in body size. I found equivocal results concerning the Island Rule. In chapter one, I found that the great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) follows the Island Rule, as it is larger in its exotic island range than in the native source range. However, in chapter two, I found no clear Island Rule pattern examining 39 insular populations. However, I did find a clear pattern of decrease in wing length and increase in tail length. Although these populations may not be following an overall Island Rule pattern, they are still adapting to their exotic environments. In chapter three, I evaluated among-island diversification of six passerine species introduced to the Hawaiian archipelago. Five of these six species show some morphological differentiation between islands, and at least some of this differentiation cannot be accounted for by genetic drift.
The results of this dissertation provide further support for the idea that evolutionary divergence can happen over contemporary time scales. The passerine bird populations examined in these chapters have adapted to local conditions, giving us insights into the genesis of evolutionary diversity.
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ix, 107 p. : ill.
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Ph.D.
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by Blake Mathys
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Mathys
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Blake
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1980-
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Blake Mathys
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Lockwood
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Julie
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Julie L Lockwood
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Peter
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Peter Smouse
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Jordan
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Rebecca
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Rebecca Jordan
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Dov Sax
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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2010
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2010-01
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xx
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Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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doi:10.7282/T3CZ3797
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ETD doctoral
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Copyright protected
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Open
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Mathys
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Blake
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2010-01-05 21:52:28
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Blake Mathys
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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