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Contrasting impacts of competition on ecological and social trait evolution in songbirds

Drury, J.P.; Tobias, J.A.; Burns, K.J.; Mason, N.A.; Schultz, A.J.; Morlon, H.

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Authors

J.A. Tobias

K.J. Burns

N.A. Mason

A.J. Schultz

H. Morlon



Abstract

Competition between closely related species has long been viewed as a powerful selective force that drives trait diversification, thereby generating phenotypic diversity over macroevolutionary timescales. However, although the impact of interspecific competition has been documented in a handful of iconic insular radiations, most previous studies have focused on traits involved in resource use, and few have examined the role of competition across large, continental radiations. Thus, the extent to which broad-scale patterns of phenotypic diversity are shaped by competition remain largely unclear, particularly for social traits. Here, we estimate the effect of competition between interacting lineages by applying new phylogenetic models that account for such interactions to an exceptionally complete dataset of resource-use traits and social signaling traits for the entire radiation of tanagers (Aves, Thraupidae), the largest family of songbirds. We find that interspecific competition strongly influences the evolution of traits involved in resource use, with a weaker effect on plumage signals, and very little effect on song. Our results provide compelling evidence that interspecific exploitative competition contributes to ecological trait diversification among coexisting species, even in a large continental radiation. In comparison, signal traits mediating mate choice and social competition seem to diversify under different evolutionary models, including rapid diversification in the allopatric stage of speciation.

Citation

Drury, J., Tobias, J., Burns, K., Mason, N., Schultz, A., & Morlon, H. (2018). Contrasting impacts of competition on ecological and social trait evolution in songbirds. PLoS Biology, 16(1), Article e2003563. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003563

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 11, 2018
Online Publication Date Jan 31, 2018
Publication Date Jan 31, 2018
Deposit Date Feb 13, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal PLoS Biology
Print ISSN 1544-9173
Electronic ISSN 1545-7885
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 16
Issue 1
Article Number e2003563
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003563

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Copyright: © 2018 Drury et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.




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