Ornithology Commons^™

Bilateral Gynandromorphy In A White-Ruffed Manakin (Corapipo Altera), Jeffrey M. Dacosta, Garth M. Spellman, John Klicka

Ornithology Program (HRC)

We report bilateral gynandromorphy in a White-ruffed Manakin (Corapipo altera) collected near Santa Fé, Panamá in 2004. The specimen had an oviduct and ovary on the left side and a single testis on the right. The plumage was phenotypically female on the right side and male on the left. The weight and genetic affinity of the specimen were characteristically female. Both Z and W chromosomes were detected in genetic samples from multiple tissue types and toe pads from both feet. This report is a novel record of gynandromorphy in a suboscine passerine.

A Molecular Evaluation Of The North American “Grassland” Sparrow Clade, John Klicka, Garth M. Spellman

Ornithology Program (HRC)

Because they share several morphological and ecological characters, the North American sparrow (Emberizidae) genera Ammodramus, Passerculus, and Xenospiza have historically been considered members of a well-defined “grassland” sparrow assemblage. Relationships among the 11 members of this group have been the subject of much taxonomic debate, yet no comprehensive molecular assessment of relationships has been done. We investigated these relationships using mitochondrial DNA sequence data that included complete cytochrome-b and ND2 genes. Phylogenetic reconstructions derived via parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods were congruent. The grassland sparrows, as presently configured, are polyphyletic. Pooecetes gramineus, Amphispiza belli (but not A. …

A Cytochrome-B Perspective On Passerina Bunting Relationships, John Klicka, Adam J. Fry, Robert M. Zink, Christopher W. Thompson

Ornithology Program (HRC)

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene (1,143 nucleotides) for representatives of each species in the cardinalid genera Passerina (6 species), Guiraca (1 species), and Cyanocompsa (3 species), and used a variety of phylogenetic methods to address relationships within and among genera. We determined that Passerina, as presently recognized, is paraphyletic. Lazuli Bunting (P. amoena) is sister to the much larger Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca caerulea). Indigo Bunting (P. cyanea) and Lazuli Bunting are not sister taxa as generally thought. In all weighted parsimony trees and for the gamma-corrected HKY tree, Indigo Bunting is …

The Taxonomic Rank Of Spizella Taverneri: A Response To Mayr And Johnson, John Klicka, Robert M. Zink, Jon C. Barlow, W. Bruce Mcgillivray, Terry J. Doyle

Ornithology Program (HRC)

Mayr and Johnson suggest that Spizella taverneri should be a subspecies of the biological species S. breweri, because it is possibly not reproductively isolated. We originally concluded that evidence from mitochondrial DNA sequences, habitat preferences, timing of breeding, vocalizations, and morphology supported the recognition of S. taverneri as a phylogenetic and biological species. Nothing in the commentary by Mayr and Johnson causes us to change that conclusion. We believe that it is probable that these two allopatric taxa are isolated. Contrary to Mayr and Johnson, we believe that more information is given by ranking S. taverneri as a species, because …

Recolonization Of The Flicker And Other Notes From Isla Guadalupe, Mexico, Paul R. Sweet, George F. Barrrowclough, John Klicka, Liliana Montanez-Godoy, Patricia Escalante

Ornithology Program (HRC)

During a visit to Isla Guadalupe from 31 May to 3 June 1996, we documented three species new to the island, the Barn Owl, Swainson's Thrush, and Hooded Oriole, and established first breeding records for the European Starling and Western Meadowlark. Red-shafted Flickers are now breeding on the island, representing a recent recolonization from the mainland following the extinction of the endemic population. We investigated the validity of Colaptes auratus rufipileus and concluded that it doesn’t meet the standard for phylogenetic species but differs from C. a. collaris at the 75% level usually associated with subspecific rank. Damage to the …

New World Nine-Primaried Oscine Relationships: Constructing A Molecular Framework, John Klicka, Kevin P. Johnson, Scott M. Lanyon

Ornithology Program (HRC)

Historically, a paucity of comparative morphological characters has led to much debate regarding relationships within and among the major lineages of New World nine-primaried oscines. More recently, DNA-DNA hybridization studies have provided novel and testable hypotheses of relationships, although no consensus has been reached. For 40 songbird taxa, we obtained 1,929 base pairs (bp) of DNA sequence from the mitochondrial cytochrome-b (894 bp) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (1,035 bp) genes. Phylogenetic analyses confirm the monophyly of this assemblage as traditionally defined. The lineages delineated historically on morphological grounds are retained; finches (Fringillinae) are sister to a well-supported clade …

Evolutionary Patterns Of Morphometrics, Allozymes And Mitochondrial Dna In Thrashers (Genus Toxostoma), Robert M. Zink, Donna L. Dittmann, John Klicka, Rachelle C. Blackwell-Rago

Ornithology Program (HRC)

We examined patterns of variation in skeletal morphometrics (29 characters), allozymes (34 loci), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) restriction sites (n = 74) and fragments (n = 395), and mtDNA sequences (1,739 bp from cytochrome b, ND2, ND6, and the control region) among all species of Toxostoma. The phenetic pattern of variation in skeletal morphometrics generally matched traditional taxonomic groupings (based on plumage patterns) with the exceptions of T. redivivum, which because of its large size clusters outside of its proper evolutionary group (lecontei), and T. occelatum, which did not cluster with T. curvirostre. Skull characters contributed highly to species discrimination, suggesting …

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 …

Genic Population Structure And Gene Flow In The Northern Flicker (Colaptes Auratus) Hybrid Zone, Thaddeus A. Grudzien, William S. Moore, J. Richard Cook, Danilo Tagle

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

The Yellow-shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus auratus) and Red-shafted Flicker (C. a. cafer) form a stable, narrow hybrid zone on the western Great Plains of North America. Allozyme data were obtained from 31 structural gene loci for 33 samples representing 246 Northern Flickers from throughout the Great Plains. Flickers were approximately equivalent to other birds in terms of proportion of polymorphic loci (P = 0.207) and average heterozygosity (H = 0.056). There was no concordant variation between plumage characters and allelic frequencies.

Gene-diversity analysis indicated that 92.5% of the genic variation occurred as within-deme heterozygosity ( …

Lavender, A Chick Melanocyte Mutant With Defective Melanosome Translocation: A Possible Role For 10 Nm Filaments And Microfilaments But Not Microtubules, Paula Mayerson, John Brumbaugh

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lavender is a mutation of chick neural-crest-derived melanocytes showing dilute feather pigmentation. This defect, previously attributed to a lack or attenuation of dendrites, was found to be due to a defect in melanosome translocation. The mutant phenotype, of melanin-congested perikarya and pigmentless dendrites is expressed both in vivo and in vitro. Studies with colcemid and cytochalasin B suggest that the avian melanocyte resembles a dispersing amphibian melanophore in its requirement for microfilaments but not microtubules.

Ultrastructural analysis revealed a normal complement of intracellular filaments. Microtubules, however, are scarce. Intermediate (10 nm) filaments surround and are closely associated with intracellular organelles, …

The Feasibility Of Avian Karyotypes In Taxonomy, Gerald Francis Shields

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to evaluate the usefulness of various karyotypic procedures using domesticated and passerine birds and second, to comment on the validity of the application of karyotypic data to taxonomy.