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Evidence Supporting The Recent Origin And Species Status Of The Timberline Sparrow, John Klicka, Robert M. Zink, Jon C. Barlow, W. Bruce Mcgillivray, Terry J. Doyle
Evidence Supporting The Recent Origin And Species Status Of The Timberline Sparrow, John Klicka, Robert M. Zink, Jon C. Barlow, W. Bruce Mcgillivray, Terry J. Doyle
Ornithology Program (HRC)
The Timberline Sparrow (Spizella taverneri), although originally described as a species, is currently classified as a subspecies of the more widespread Brewer's Sparrow (S. breweri). We investigated the taxonomic status and recent evolutionary history of these species by comparison of both morphological and molecular characters. Morphometric comparisons using 6 external and 18 skeletal measurements show that S. taverneri specimens from two widely separated populations (Yukon and southwestern Alberta, Canada) are indistinguishable with respect to size yet are significantly larger (by 3%) than representatives of several breweri populations. Analysis of 1,413 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for 10 breweri and …