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Omnivory in birds is a macroevolutionary sink
Gustavo Burin1, W Daniel Kissling2, Paulo R Guimarães1
1Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, 11294, 05422-970 São Paulo, Brazil.
Nature Communications
|April 8, 2016
Summary
Diet significantly impacts bird evolution. Omnivory, a broad diet, leads to higher extinction and lower speciation rates, acting as a macroevolutionary sink due to food resource competition.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Ecology
- Ornithology
Background:
- Diet is a key evolutionary driver, yet its macroevolutionary impact on species diversification remains understudied.
- Understanding dietary guilds' roles in speciation and extinction is crucial for macroevolutionary insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the macroevolutionary consequences of diet in avian diversification.
- To assess speciation and extinction rates across diverse avian dietary guilds.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Bayesian models of trait-dependent diversification.
- Employed a comprehensive global avian dietary database.
- Conducted trait-dependent models, dietary similarity, and network analyses.
Main Results:
- Omnivory exhibits higher extinction and lower speciation rates compared to other dietary guilds.
- Net diversification for omnivores is negative, indicating a macroevolutionary sink.
- Transitions into omnivory are more frequent than into any other guild.
Conclusions:
- Omnivory's ephemeral nature is maintained by transitions from other guilds, not omnivore speciation.
- Competition within and between dietary guilds, influenced by food resource dynamics, shapes these diversification patterns.
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