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Pleistocene diversification and speciation of White-throated Thrush (Turdus assimilis; Aves: Turdidae)

Journal of Ornithology volume 157, pages 1073–1085 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

It is suggested that dispersal and vicariance led to speciation in Mesoamerican taxa during the Pleistocene, as a consequence of climatic fluctuations and resulting range disjunctions, but few biogeographic studies have been developed to assess their relative roles. Based on a mitochondrial DNA dataset, we analyzed the evolutionary history of Turdus assimilis, a species distributed in Mesoamerica and northwestern South America. Phylogenetic patterns, divergence times, and biogeographic analyses suggest a South American ancestor for T. assimilis, which split from T. albicollis between 1.4 and 3.0 Ma ago. The analysis suggests the colonization of Mesoamerica and the Chocó region by small numbers of founder individuals. Furthermore, genetic divergence, reciprocal monophyly, an ancient disjunction, and clear phenotypic differences suggest that the population from the Chocó region, T. a. daguae, represents a separate species from T. assimilis.

Zusammenfassung

Diversifizierung und Artbildung bei der Weißkehldrossel ( Turdus assimilis ; Aves: Turdidae) im Pleistozän Ausbreitung und Vikarianz gelten weithin als die Faktoren, die als ein Ergebnis von Klimaveränderungen und daraus resultierenden Brüchen in ihren Siedlungsgebieten bei den mittelamerikanischen Taxa während des Pleistozäns zur Artbildung geführt haben. Aber bislang sind nur wenige biogeographische Studien aufgesetzt worden, um die Rolle dieser Faktoren zu untersuchen. Anhand einer Datensammlung mitochondrialer DNA haben wir die Evolutionsgeschichte der Weißkehldrossel (Turdus assimilis), einer in Mittelamerika und Nordwest-Südamerika verbreiteten Art, analysiert. Phylogenetische Muster, Zeiten ausgeprägter Divergenzen und biogeographische Analysen legen nahe, dass es einen südamerikanischen Vorläufer der Weißkehldrossel gab, der sich vor 1,4 bis 3,0 Millionen Jahren von T. albicollis abspaltete. Die Analyse weist darauf hin, dass Mittelamerika und die Chocó-Gegend von einer kleinen Anzahl Gründer-Individuen besiedelt wurde. Ferner legen genetische Divergenzen, wechselseitige Monophylie, eine frühe Chromosomentrennung und klare phänotypische Unterschiede nahe, dass die Population der Chocó-Region, T. a. daguae, eine von T. assimilis unterschiedliche Art darstellt.

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Acknowledgments

This contribution was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from DGAPA-UNAM to JN-Z. We thank Alejandro Gordillo, Marco Ortiz, Fernanda Bibriesca, Alan Palacios, Aura Puga, Sahid Robles, Luis Antonio Sánchez, Ruth Bennett, Justin Hite, Mary Ferraro, and Oliver Komar for logistic support on field trips that resulted in key material for this study. We thank Luis Antonio Sánchez, Michael Wink, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. We thank the individuals and institutions that provided tissue samples and helped with access to specimens (Fanny Rebón and Diego Roldán, MZFC; Nathan Rice, Academy of Natural Sciences; Thomas J. Trombone and Paul R. Sweet, American Museum of Natural History; and Mark Robbins, University of Kansas). Financial support for different stages of the project was obtained from CONACYT (152,060) and PAPIIT-UNAM (IN 217212 and 215515).

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  1. Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Depto. de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, Apartado Postal 70-399, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico

    Jano Núñez-Zapata & Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza

  2. Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    A. Townsend Peterson

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  1. Jano Núñez-Zapata
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Núñez-Zapata, J., Townsend Peterson, A. & Navarro-Sigüenza, A.G. Pleistocene diversification and speciation of White-throated Thrush (Turdus assimilis; Aves: Turdidae). J Ornithol 157, 1073–1085 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1350-6

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Keywords

  • Phylogeography
  • Lowlands
  • Genetic distances
  • Mesoamerica
  • Chocó region
  • Founder event speciation