Cryptic diversity in a widespread North American songbird: Phylogeography of the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2011

Publication Title

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

58

Issue

3

First page number:

502

Last page number:

512

Abstract

The identification of species via morphological characteristics has traditionally left cryptic species undescribed in taxa under selection for morphological conservation (or a lack of selection for morphological change). Treecreepers (Genus: Certhia) have a conserved morphological appearance, making it difficult to ascertain relationships in the genus based on morphology alone. Recent genetic and song structure studies of Eurasian Treecreepers identified cryptic species within Old World Certhia that were previously undescribed using morphological characteristics. Here, we use mtDNA to investigate cryptic diversity and patterns of diversification in the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), the single described Certhia species in the Americas. Phylogenetic analyses identified six well-supported geographically-structured clades; the basal divergence separates a northern and a southern lineage in the Brown Creeper, likely cryptic species previously characterized as many subspecies. Sympatry is prevalent between clades in western North America, where possible contact zones warrant further investigation. Allopatry appears to be the primary driver of deep phylogeographic structure within the Brown Creeper; however, within clade diversity is highly correlated with the life history traits of the populations that comprise the geographically structured phylogroups.

Keywords

Certhia americana; Creepers (Birds); Phylogeography; Population biology; Population genetics

Controlled Subject

Bird populations--Research; Brown creeper; Phylogeography

Disciplines

Molecular Genetics | Ornithology | Population Biology

File Format

pdf

File Size

790 KB

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited.

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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