Geographic drivers of avian diversification in the Philippine archipelago

I investigate the relative roles of different classes of geographical barriers in the diversification of the Philippine avifauna, by inferring the evolutionary relationships of 20 avian groups with DNA sequence data. In chapter one, I reconstruct the historical biogeography of the Aethopyga sunbirds. In chapter two, I examine the distribution of genetic variation and plumage patterns in Robsonius ground-warblers, and described a new species. In chapter 3, I reconstruct the evolutionary history and ecological niches of eight co-distributed polytypic species of Philippine birds, and infer that a paleoclimate barrier dove diversification. In chapter four, I use molecular markers and plumage characters to reassess conservative species limits in 19 avian species or species groups in the Mindanao Island group of the Philippines. In addition to permanent marine barriers, long understood to isolate insular lineages, I provide evidence that periodic marine barriers, periodic climatic barriers, and complex topography isolate and promote diversification in Philippine birds. Populations inhabiting island groups (bounded by deep-water barriers) are frequently paraphyletic, contrary to the perception that deep-water barriers are the most important geographic isolating feature in insular systems. I document two small avian radiations, the Robsonius in Luzon, and Aethopyga in Mindanao, are exceptions to the paradigm that birds do not diversify within single islands. Congruence of molecular markers and plumage characters support that avian taxonomy in the Philippines is extremely conservative, and most Philippines species would be more appropriately treated as sets of allopatric evolutionary lineages, rather than widespread polytypic species

A Molecular Phylogeny of Black-Tyrants (Tyrannidae: Knipolegus) Reveals Strong Geographic Patterns and Homoplasy in Plumage and Display Behavior

This is the Publisher's version, also available from http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1525/auk.2012.11101.We present the first molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for Knipolegus (black-tyrants), a widespread genus of South American tyrant-flycatchers, based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Bayesian and maximum-likelihood analyses support three clades within Knipolegus, one confined to northern South America, one confined to southeast Brazil, and one confined to the Southern Cone and southern Andes. Within each clade, two or more species are broadly sympatric or parapatric, overlapping in general distribution but differing in habitat specialization. Maximum-likelihood ancestral state reconstructions using an equal-rate stochastic model support a single origin of austral migration in the southern group. Contrasting with these strong geographic patterns, ancestral state reconstructions of plumage and display evolution were more complex, with multiple inferred character-state changes. Ancestral state reconstructions suggest a sexually dimorphic ancestor of Knipolegus, and sexually similar plumages are the result of three independent character-state changes: one in male plumage and two in female plumage. Ancestral state reconstructions support the conclusion that flight displays with mechanical sounds originated in the Knipolegus ancestor, and loss of mechanical sounds in flight displays occurred twice

Birds (Aves), Serrania Sadiri, Parque Nacional Madidi, Depto. La Paz, Bolivia

We surveyed the Serrania Sadiri for birds at elevations between 500-950m for a combined total of 15 days in three different months. The area surveyed was along the Tumupasa/San Jose de Uchupiamones trail at the edge of Parque Nacional Madidi in Depto. La Paz, Bolivia. We report observations of 231 species of birds detected by sight and sound, including many outlying ridge specialists. We report and present photographs of a new species for Depto. La Paz (Caprimulgis nigrescens), the second Bolivian localities for Porphyrolaema prophyrolae ereicapillus, and Basileuterus chrysogaster, and five new species records for Parque Nacional Madidi

Rethinking phylogeographic structure and historical refugia in the rufous-capped babbler Cyanoderma ruficeps in light of range-wide genetic sampling and paleodistributional reconstructions

Combining ecological niche modeling with phylogeography has become a popular approach to understand how historical climate changes have created and maintained population structure. However, methodological choices in geographic extents and environmental layer sets employed in modeling may affect results and interpretations profoundly. Here, we infer range-wide phylogeographic structure and model ecological niches of Cyanoderma ruficeps, and compare results to previous studies that examined this species across mainland China and Taiwan only. Use of dense taxon sampling of closely related species as outgroups question C. ruficeps monophyly. Furthermore, previously unsampled C. ruficeps populations from central Vietnam were closely related to disjunct western populations (Nepal, Tibet, Myanmar, Yunnan), rather than to geographically proximate populations in northern Vietnam and eastern China. Phylogeographic structure is more complex than previously appreciated; niche model projections to Last Glacial Maximum climate scenarios identified larger areas of suitable conditions than previous studies, but potential distributional limits differed markedly between climate models employed and were dependent upon interpretation of non-analogous historical climate scenarios. Previously identified population expansion across central China may result from colonization from refugial distributions during the Last Interglacial, rather than the Last Glacial Maximum, as previously understood

An overview

A total of 51,074 archaeological sites from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age (c. 8000–500 BC), with a spatial extent covering most regions of China (c. 73–131°E and c. 20–53°N), were analysed over space and time in this study. Site maps of 25 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, published in the series ‘Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics’, were used to extract, digitalise and correlate its archaeological data. The data were, in turn, entered into a database using a self-developed mapping software that makes the data, in a dynamic way, analysable as a contribution to various scientific questions, such as population growth and migrations, spread of agriculture and changes in subsistence strategies. The results clearly show asynchronous patterns of changes between the northern and southern parts of China (i.e. north and south of the Yangtze River, respectively) but also within these macro-regions. In the northern part of China (i.e. along the Yellow River and its tributaries and in the Xiliao River basin), the first noticeable increase in the concentration of Neolithic sites occurred between c. 5000 and 4000 BC; however, highest site concentrations were reached between c. 2000 and 500 BC. Our analysis shows a radical north- eastern shift of high site-density clusters (over 50 sites per 100 × 100 km grid cell) from the Wei and middle/lower Yellow Rivers to the Liao River system sometime between 2350 BC and 1750 BC. This shift is hypothetically discussed in the context of the incorporation of West Asian domesticated animals and plants into the existing northern Chinese agricultural system. In the southern part of China, archaeological sites do not show a noticeable increase in the absolute number of sites until after c. 1500 BC, reaching a maximum around 1000 BC

Kulturgeschichte Chinas in Karten: Digitalisierung der archäologischen Fundplatzkartierungen aus der Buchreihe „Atlas der Kulturdenkmäler Chinas“, vom Frühneolithikum bis zur frühen Eisenzeit (ca. 8000-500 v. Chr.)

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnten erstmals aus 27 Provinzen, Autonomen Regionen und Regierungsunmittelbaren Städten Chinas 51.536 archäologische Fundplätze vom frühen Neolithikum bis zur frühen Eisenzeit aus den in der chinesischen Buchreihe „Atlas der Kulturdenkmäler Chinas“ veröffentlichten „analogen” Daten digitalisiert und mit geographischen Koordinaten und synchronen Chronologien versehen und dynamisch über Zeit und Raum analysiert werden. Die Daten sind eine einzigartige Sammlung von archäologischen Fundplatzdaten über fast gesamt China, die als Ergebnis dieser Arbeit der internationalen Forschung als wichtiges Hilfsmittel digital zur Verfügung stehen. Die Daten können im Rahmen von aktuellen Forschungsfragen zur Frühzeit Chinas genutzt werden, wie dem Beginn und der Ausbreitung von Landwirtschaft (z.B. Hirse, Reis, Schweine und Hühner), mit der Änderung von Subsistenzwirtschaften einhergehende Bevölkerungsdynamiken, wie Bevölkerungswachstum oder -rezession durch Interpolation von Fundplatzzahlen auf Bevölkerungszahlen, und auch die geographische Ausbreitung dieser. Im Zusammenhang mit Daten aus anderen Ländern können auch überregionale Fragen, wie z.B. der Austausch von Innovationen innerhalb der Länder Ostasiens, aber auch mit denen Zentral- und Vorderasiens und Europa adressiert werden. Fragen zu Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen aber auch der Einfluss von klimatischen Veränderungen können mit den vorliegenden Daten ebenfalls unterstützt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen deutlich die chronologischen Fundplatzentwicklungen über gesamt China, besonders in den kulturellen Kernregionen in Nord- und Zentralchina in den Einzugsgebieten des Gelben Flusses und des Wei-Flusses und in Nordostchina im Liao-Fluss-Tal und der modernen Provinz Liaoning. Im Süden Chinas entlang des Jangtse und seiner Zuflüsse. Der Norden und Süden Chinas zeigen deutliche Unterschiede in den Fundplatzzahlen über den analysierten Zeitraum. Eine erste Zunahme ist bereits im fünften Jahrtausend v. Chr. sichtbar und die höchsten Fundplatzkonzentrationen lassen sich in der Bronzezeit im zweiten Jahrtausend v. Chr. bis in die erste Hälfte des ersten Jahrtausends v. Chr. erkennen. Im Vergleich dazu bleiben die Fundplatzzahlen im Süden Chinas während des gesamten Neolithikums vergleichsweise niedrig, was das Bild der kulturellen Entwicklung in China etwas verzerrt, da dies wahrscheinlich auch Forschungsstand und Fundplatzerhaltung wiedergibt. Ein erster signifikanter Anstieg an Fundplatzzahlen ist in Südchina erst in der Mitte des zweiten Jahrtausends v. Chr. zu verzeichnen. Ein Maximum an Fundplatzzahlen wird in beiden Teilen Chinas um ca. 1000 v. Chr. erreicht, allerdings um einen Faktor ca. 400 höher in Nordchina. Eine besonders signifikante Veränderung in den Fundplatzmustern findet zwischen dem späten Neolithikum (ca. 2350 v. Chr.) und der frühen Bronzezeit (ca. 1750 v. Chr.) statt. Die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit erzeugten Fundplatzdichteanalysen zeigen eine deutliche Verlagerung der Fundplatzdichten vom Einzugsgebiet des Wei-Flusses und mittleren bis unteren Gelben Flusses hin in den Nordosten Chinas in das Einzugsgebiet des Liao-Flusses.In this study a total of 51,536 archaeological sites ranging from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age were digitalized and dynamically analysed for the first time. The data covers 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China and was published in ‘analog’ form in the Chinese book series ‘Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics’ . The archaeological site data was digitalized, and geographical coordinates and synchronous chronologies were added. This data is a unique collection of archaeological site data covering nearly complete China, which can be used to support the international research as a result of this study. It can address recent research questions regarding early China, as the origin and spread of agriculture (i.e. millet, rice, pigs, chicken), changes of population dynamics in relation to changes in the subsistence strategies, like population growth or -recession, made possible by the interpolation of site numbers to human population numbers as well as the spread of human populations. In combination with data from other countries it can also address international questions, i.e. the exchange of innovations across the countries of East Asia, but also across Central Asia, the Near East and Europe. Questions related the Human-Environment-Relations but also the influence of climatic changes can be addressed as well. The results show clearly the chronological development of sites over nearly complete China, especially in the cultural core regions of northern and central China, catchment area of the Yellow River and the Wei-River and in the northeast with the Liao-River Basin and the modern province of Liaoning and the southern part of China along the Yangtze and its tributaries. The site numbers of the northern and southern parts of China clearly reflect significant differences during the analyzed periods. A first increase is already visible in the fifth millennium BC. In comparison the site numbers in the southern part of China stay relatively low during the whole Neolithic, what distorts a bit the picture of cultural development in the southern part of China. It can be assumed that this fact is reflecting the current state of research and the preservation of archaeological sites. A first noticeable increase in site numbers is in southern China in the mid of the second millennium BC visible. A maximum of site numbers is reached in both parts of China around c. 1000 BC, but with a factor c. 400 higher in the northern part of China. An especially significant change in site distribution patterns occurred between the late Neolithic (c. 2350 BC) and the early Bronze Age (c. 1750 BC). The analysis shows a radical north-eastern shift of the site-density clusters from the catchment areas of the Wei-River and the middle to lower Yellow river to the northeast of China in the catchment area of the Liao-River

Do Austrian Programmes Facilitate Labour Market Integration of Refugees?

This study examines two programmes aimed at integrating refugees into the Austrian labour market: a short-term Skills Assessment and a longer-term Integration Year that includes an internship and training. The theoretical framework draws on the concepts of social field and forms of capital proposed by Pierre Bourdieu. Using data from a large-scale refugee survey in early 2019, we find that Austria’s short-term Skills Assessment fails to increase refugees’ employment chances. The Integration Year positively helps employment, but this outcome is limited to refugee women. We conclude that integration programmes only help if they provide refugees with both cultural and social capital. Implications for research and practice are dis- cussed

Molecular systematics of swifts of the genus Chaetura (Aves: Apodiformes: Apodidae)

Phylogenetic relationships among swifts of the morphologically conservative genus Chaetura were studied using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Taxon sampling included all species and 21 of 30 taxa (species and subspecies) within Chaetura. Our results indicate that Chaetura is monophyletic and support the division of the genus into the two subgenera previously identified using plumage characters. However, our genetic data, when considered in combination with phenotypic data, appear to be at odds with the current classification of some species of Chaetura. We recommend that C. viridipennis, currently generally treated as specifically distinct from C. chapmani, be returned to its former status as C. chapmani viridipennis, and that C. andrei, now generally regarded as synonymous with C. vauxi aphanes, again be recognized as a valid species. Widespread Neotropical species C. spinicaudus is paraphyletic with respect to more range-restricted species C. fumosa, C. egregia, and C. martinica. Geographically structured genetic variation within some other species of Chaetura, especially notable in C. cinereiventris, suggests that future study may lead to recognition of additional species in this genus. Biogeographic analysis indicated that Chaetura originated in South America and identified several dispersal events to Middle and North America following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama

A genome-wide assessment of stages of elevational parapatry in Bornean passerine birds reveals no introgression: implications for processes and patterns of speciation

Topographically complex regions often contain the close juxtaposition of closely related species along elevational gradients. The evolutionary causes of these elevational replacements, and thus the origin and maintenance of a large portion of species diversity along elevational gradients, are usually unclear because ecological differentiation along a gradient or secondary contact following allopatric diversification can produce the same pattern. We used reduced representation genomic sequencing to assess genetic relationships and gene flow between three parapatric pairs of closely related songbird taxa (Arachnothera spiderhunters, Chloropsis leafbirds, and Enicurus forktails) along an elevational gradient in Borneo. Each taxon pair presents a different elevational range distribution across the island, yet results were uniform: little or no gene flow was detected in any pairwise comparisons. These results are congruent with an allopatric “species-pump” model for generation of species diversity and elevational parapatry of congeners on Borneo, rather than in situ generation of species by “ecological speciation” along an elevational gradient