Monarchidae Research Articles

Cryptic genera, cryptic species: phylogeny of the genus Philopteroides Mey, 2004, sensu lato, with descriptions of two new genera and one new species

Closely related chewing lice in the Philopterus-complex are typically morphologically homogeneous, with the most significant differences often being in the male genitalia. However, in many groups within this complex the male genitalia are reduced and lacking one or more element, with the remaining components often at least partially fused. This is not least the case in the genus Philopteroides Mey, 2004, in which the male mesosome is often reduced and other characters are largely homogeneous throughout the genus. A phylogeny of the group based on a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear genes suggests that the species presently placed in Philopteroides belong to three different clades, which do not form a monophyletic group together. We here redefine Philopteroides morphologically, and describe two of these clades as new genera: Stasiasticopterusn. gen. for the species on bulbuls, and Coronedaxn. gen. for species on monarch flycatchers. These genera can be separated from each other and from Philopteroides only by some characters of the male genitalia, but possibly also by characters of the preantennal head and female genitalia. In addition, we describe a new species of Coronedax, Coronedax longicepssp. n. and provide an overview of the morphology of the male genitalia in the three genera treated.

Clarifying the nomenclature of Pomarea species (Monarchidae) from the Society Islands

We re-examine evidence from the voyage of the corvette La Coquille in respect of the Pomarea monarch flycatchers from Tahiti and Maupiti, and conclude that Pomarea maupitiensisGarnot, 1829, should be recognised as a distinct but extinct species for which we designate a lectotype, necessarily represented by the image in a colour plate.

Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation

Monarch flycatchers are a major component of Australo-Pacific and Wallacean avifaunas. To date, the family has received incomplete attention by molecular systematists who focused on subclades with minimal character and/or taxon sampling. As a result, Monarchidae taxonomy is still out-of-date, and biogeographic reconstructions have been based on poorly-resolved phylogenies, limiting their interpretation. Here, we produced a comprehensive, molecular phylogeny of the Monarchidae inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear loci using both concatenated and multilocus coalescent frameworks. We sampled 92% of the 99 recognized monarchid biological species and included deeper sampling within several phylogenetic species complexes, including Monarcha castaneiventris, Symposiachrus barbatus, and Terpsiphone rufiventer. Melampitta is identified as sister to the monarch flycatchers, which themselves comprise four major lineages. The first lineage comprises Terpsiphone and allies, the second lineage is Grallina, the third is Arses and Myiagra, and the fourth lineage comprises a diverse assemblage of genera including the “core monarchs” and the most geographically isolated groups like Chasiempis (Hawaii) and Pomarea (eastern Polynesia). Gene tree discordance was evident in Myiagra, which has implications for basal lineages in the genus (e.g., M. azureocapilla, M. hebetior, and M. alecto). Numerous genera within the core monarchs are paraphyletic, including Mayrornis and Pomarea, whereas the validity of others such as Metabolus are questionable. We recognize polytypic taxa as multiple species, including Lamprolia victoriae and Myiagra azureocapilla. In general, the topology of species complexes included short internodes that were not well resolved, owing to their rapid diversification across island archipelagos. Terpsiphone rufiventer comprises multiple lineages, including a heretofore-unappreciated West African lineage, but relationships within these rapid radiations will require extensive genomic sampling for further resolution. This study establishes a new benchmark for Monarchidae systematics and it provides an excellent framework for future work on biogeography and character evolution in a diverse Australo-Papuan radiation.

Multiple waves of colonization by monarch flycatchers (Myiagra, Monarchidae) across the Indo‐Pacific and their implications for coexistence and speciation

AbstractAimIslands and archipelagos have played an important role in the development of ecological and evolutionary theories. Using a newly compiled molecular phylogeny we infer the biogeographical history of a monarch flycatcher genus, Myiagra, which is distributed across the Indo‐Pacific. We subsequently integrate biogeographical and ecomorphological data to examine the role of dispersal and trait evolution in the build‐up of avian assemblages.LocationAustralia, the Moluccas, New Guinea and Pacific islands.MethodsWe generated a taxonomically densely sampled mitochondrial DNA dataset that included almost all species and subspecies of the reciprocally monophyletic genera Myiagra and Arses. We then used maximum likelihoood and Bayesian inference to infer their phylogenetic relationships. To reconstruct their biogeographical history, we first dated the tree topology and then used Lagrange to infer ancestral geographical areas. Finally, we combined ancestral area reconstructions with information on ecomorphological traits to infer mechanisms underlying community assembly.ResultsWe provide the first comprehensive molecular phylogenetic reconstruction for Myiagra and Arses monarch flycatchers. Our phylogenetic reconstruction reveals a relatively recent diversification from the Miocene associated with several major dispersal events. Ancestral area reconstruction reveals several independent colonizations of the Moluccas, Melanesia, Fiji and the Micronesian islands. Ancestral state reconstruction of ecological traits suggests that the diversity of traits in co‐occurring species of monarch flycatchers results from independent colonization events and ecological niche conservatism rather than in situ diversification.Main conclusionsThree waves of colonization, non‐overlapping in time, led to independent speciation events in the Bismarcks, Fiji and the Moluccas, in addition to in situ speciation events on remote islands of Micronesia, the Solomons, Vanuatu and Samoa. Few of these colonizations have led to the co‐occurrence of congenerics or species with similar ecomorphological profiles on the same island. Thus, we suggest that priority effects might prevent new colonizers from establishing themselves if they share high levels of ecological similarity with resident species. We conclude that historical dispersal to and colonization of new islands, combined with ecologically deterministic priority effects, drove the assembly of insular monarch flycatcher communities across the Indo‐Pacific.

Dynamic colonization exchanges between continents and islands drive diversification in paradise‐flycatchers (Terpsiphone, Monarchidae)

AbstractAim We use parametric biogeographical reconstruction based on an extensive DNA sequence dataset to characterize the spatio‐temporal pattern of colonization of the Old World monarch flycatchers (Monarchidae). We then use this framework to examine the role of dispersal and colonization in their evolutionary diversification and to compare plumages between island and continentalTerpsiphonespecies.Location Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean.Methods We generate a DNA sequence dataset of 2300 bp comprising one nuclear and three mitochondrial markers for 89% (17/19) of the Old World Monarchidae species and 70% of theTerpsiphonesubspecies. By applying maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic methods and implementing a Bayesian molecular clock to provide a temporal framework, we reveal the evolutionary history of the group. Furthermore, we employ both Lagrangeand Bayes‐Lagrangeanalyses to assess ancestral areas at each node of the phylogeny. By combining the ancestral area reconstruction with information on plumage traits we are able to compare patterns of plumage evolution on islands and continents.Results We provide the first comprehensive molecular phylogenetic reconstruction for the Old World Monarchidae. Our phylogenetic results reveal a relatively recent diversification associated with several dispersal events within this group. Moreover, ancestral area analyses reveal an Asian origin of the Indian Ocean and African clades. Ancestral state reconstruction analyses of plumage characters provide an interpretation of the plumage differentiation on islands and continents. Ancestral plumage traits are inferred to be close to those of the Asian paradise‐flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), and island species display a high degree of plumage autapomorphy compared with continental species.Main conclusions Terpsiphone paradisiis polyphyletic and comprises populations that have retained the ancestral plumage of the widespreadTerpsiphonegenus. The genus appears to have colonized south‐west Asia, the Indian Ocean and Africa from eastern Asia. The phylogeny and divergence time estimates indicate multiple simultaneous colonizations of the western Old World byTerpsiphone. These results reinforce a hypothesis of range expansions of aTerpsiphone paradisi‐like ancestor into eastern Asia and the western Old World.

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of all members of the genus Elminia confirms their presence within the Stenostiridae clade

The genus Elminia has had a jumbled taxonomic history, being placed among ‘old world flycatchers’ or ‘monarch flycatchers’, where it was for a long time lumped with Trochocercus. It was recently suggested that it might represent a deep clade in the large sylvioid radiation. Using one mitochondrial protein‐coding gene (ND2, 1041 bp) and one nuclear intron (myoglobin intron 2, 700 bp) DNA sequences, we obtained robust evidence for the phylogenetic placement of Elminia in the new family Stenostiridae, which is strongly supported by a synapomorphic insertion of one base in the nuclear myoglobin intron 2 sequence. Our analyses confirm the monophyly of Elminia and resolve relationships within this genus, but cannot confidently identify its sister‐taxon within the stenostirid clade. Two clades were strongly supported within the genus Elminia: one with the two fairy blue flycatchers and another with the three white‐tailed crested‐flycatchers. Within the first clade, Elminia longicauda appears non‐monophyletic but remains strongly related to E. albicauda. In the second clade, E. albiventris is sister to E. albonotata while the Dusky Crested Flycatcher (E. nigromitrata) appears in a basal position within this clade. According to our molecular dating, several geological events in western Africa and the Albertine Rift area seem to be related to the historical distribution of Elminia. Thus, the differentiation between E. albonotata and E. albiventris could be directly related to the tectonic history of these two regions. According to our molecular dating, at least one intercontinental dispersal event involving Culicicapa took place within the Stenostiridae clade at a time when the Middle East was forested.

Ernst Mayr (1904-2005) and the birds of Oceania and adjacent areas

In 1928–1930, Ernst Mayr (1904–2005) went on ornithological expeditions to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The results obtained formed the foundation of his later systematic studies as a research ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History (New York City) where he analyzed the variation, distribution, and speciation of the birds of Oceania, especially New Guinea, Melanesia and Polynesia, and of some adjacent regions. These studies are here summarized and several examples of avian distribution patterns and of regional character analyses of birds are illustrated. The results of Mayr's ornithological studies formed the intellectual database for his later work in the fields of zoogeography and evolutionary biology. Modern molecular analyses of certain groups of monarch flycatchers indicated a history of diversification in the tropical Pacific which accords well with the results of Mayr's morphological analyses of these species. A letter by E. Stresemann to E. Mayr reviewing the book on Birds of the Philippines (1946) by J. Delacour & E. Mayr is included. Lists of 26 new biological species of birds and 445 new subspecies which Mayr described are presented as well as a list of animals and plants named in his honor and the taxa of birds described by Hartert (1930) from the material Mayr had collected in northwestern New Guinea in 1928. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

SOCIAL SELECTION AND GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN TWO MONARCH FLYCATCHERS FROM THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

Abstract We tested the potential for social selection to act as a mechanism driving rapid plumage divergence in two sympatric monarch flycatchers, the White-capped Monarch (Monarcha richardsii) and the Kolombangara Monarch (M. browni), endemic to a single island group in the Solomon Archipelago. Solomon Island monarchs are famous for dramatic patterns of morphological divergence across very narrow water gaps, little parallel ecological variation, and minimal genetic differentiation among sister taxa inhabiting adjacent island groups. Social selection theory predicts that plumage traits evolved in allopatry may transmit important social information and that responses of dimorphic and monomorphic taxa to territorial intrusions will differ. For the dimorphic M. richardsii, we presented mounted specimens of subadult or female—and adult male—plumaged individuals to territorial birds and quantified their responses to these simulated intrusions. Territorial male M. richardsii generally responded alone, reacting ...

Molecular phylogenetics of monarch flycatchers (genus Monarcha) with emphasis on Solomon Island endemics

Systematic relationships among monarch flycatchers (genus Monarcha) are poorly understood despite dramatic patterns of morphological differentiation that have long attracted the attention of evolutionary biologists. With sequence data from the mitochondrial ND2 gene and Control Region, we produced a phylogenetic hypothesis for evolutionary relationships within Monarcha and among the biogeographically complex Solomon Island endemics. Outgroup analyses contradicted monophyly of the genus by imbedding a representative of the genus Clytorhynchus within one of two major clades recovered within Monarcha. These two monarch clades generally correspond with ecological and morphological distinctions, suggesting the genus may warrant revision pending the inclusion of taxa currently allied with Clytorhynchus (e.g., Neolalage spp.). Maximum likelihood reconstructions support monophyletic groupings of the two endemic Solomon Island monarch radiations, however, two currently recognized superspecies ( Monarcha manadensis and M. melanopsis) were polyphyletic and paraphyletic, respectively. Interestingly, molecular and morphological differentiation were strikingly decoupled among several Solomon Island endemics and between migratory and non-migratory forms of Monarcha trivirgatus in eastern Australia, suggesting morphological evolution has masked the true history of speciation in these groups. This initial phylogeny provides a novel platform for ongoing exploration of the history underlying dramatic patterns of geographic variation among tropical Pacific flycatchers.

Evolutionary Relationships of the Australasian Mud-Nesters (Grallinidae, Corcoracidae) - Immunological Evidence

The phylogenetic relationships of the genera of Australasian mud-nesters (Corcorax, Struthidea and Grallina) were examined by microcomplement fixation, and the results compared with morphological and DNA-DNA hybridisation data. There was general corroboration among all data sets such that (1) Corcorax and Struthidea were well-diverged members of a single lineage related to corvoids, and (2) Grallina comprised two species (Australian G. cyanoleuca and New Guinean G. bruijni) closely allied to Myiagra among the monarch flycatchers (Monarchidae). The immunological data also indicated that Corcorax and Struthidea were closer to Corvus (Corvinae) than to some other members of that subfamily identified by DNA-DNA hybridisation. There was further corroboration of evidence from DNA-DNA hybridisation for an endemic radiation among Australo-Papuan passerine families.

The Subfamily Name of the Monarch Flycatchers

The Subfamily Name of the Monarch Flycatchers