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Comparative Phyloclimatic Analysis And Evolution Of Ecological Niches In The Scimitar Babblers (Aves: Timaliidae: Pomatorhinus), Arpad S. Nyari, Sushma Reddy

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

We present the first extensive and integrative analysis of niche evolution based on climatic variables and a dated molecular phylogeny of a heterogeneous avian group of Southeast Asian scimitar babblers of the genus Pomatorhinus. The four main clades of scimitar babblers have species that co-occur in similar areas across southern Asia but some have diverged at different timeframes, with the most recently evolved clade harboring the highest number of species. Ecological niche models and analysis of contributing variables within a phylogenetic framework indicate instances of convergent evolution of members of different clades onto similar ecological parameter space, as well …