Taxonomic status of the Liberian Greenbul Phyllastrephus leucolepis and the conservation importance of the Cavalla Forest, Liberia

We thank Jochen Martens for his long-lasting patience in dealing with the specimen of leucolepis, and Brian Hillcoat for comments and advice. It is hardly possible to thank by name all those who have supported WG over the past 30 years and more since 1981 in the fields of forest ecology and ornithology in eastern Liberia. In particular, we express gratitude to Alex Peal and Theo Freeman, both Heads of Wildlife and National Parks, for their many years of cooperation, and the Silviculture Officers Wynn Bryant, Momo Kromah and Steve Miapeh. The knowledge of the tree experts Joe Keper and Daniel Dorbor helped us to gain insights into the ecological complexities of the relationship between man, birds and trees. William Toe worked for three years as bird trapper and assistant in bird banding. WG’s attachment to the University of Liberia and to the students who so often accompanied him was made possible by Ben Karmorh from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and University of Liberia. NABU, the German Conservation Society, has supported the Liberian projects for almost 30 years now. We also thank Nigel Collar, Françoise Dowsett-Lemaire and Hannah Rowland for comments and advice. We thank the African Bird Club and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for helping to fund the 2013 expedition to the Cavalla Forest, in particular Alice Ward-Francis, Robert Sheldon, Alan Williams and Keith Betton. We also are extremely grateful to Michael Garbo and staff of the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia for all manner of help with the expedition, to Harrison Karnwea and colleagues at the Forest Development Authority of Liberia for permissions and other support, as well as to Emmanuel Loqueh, Trokon Grimes, Flomo Molubah and Amos ‘Dweh’ Dorbor for being such excellent companions in the field. YL performed the genetic work as part of her M.Sc. (Genetics) at the University of Aberdeen, whose support is acknowledged.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Phylogeny of the Eurasian Wren Nannus troglodytes (Aves: Passeriformes: Troglodytidae) reveals deep and complex diversification patterns of Ibero-Maghrebian and Cyrenaican populations

Acknowledgments We are indebted to S. Birks (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA, USA) and to J.-M. Pons (L’Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France), who kindly provided access to genetic material from their collections. We also thank G. López and CHAGRA ringing group for providing samples. All genetic analyses were performed at SGN-SNSD-Mol-Lab and we are grateful to A. Rauh, C. Spitzweg, A. Müller, and C. Kehlmaier for practical help in the molecular lab facilities. We would also like to thank M. Vamberger for support in phylogenetic analyses. Finally, we would like to thank four anonymous reviewers for constructive criticism on the manuscript. Erratum: Phylogeny of the Eurasian Wren Nannus troglodytes (Aves: Passeriformes: Troglodytidae) reveals deep and complex diversification patterns of Ibero-Maghrebian and Cyrenaican populations (PLoS ONE) (2020) 15: 3 (e0230151) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230151) F. Albrecht, J. Hering, E. Fuchs, J.C. Illera, F. Ihlow, T.J. Shannon, 2020. PLoS ONEPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Article A new subspecies of Batagur affinis (Cantor, 1847), one of the world's most critically endangered chelonians (Testudines: Geoemydidae)

Abstract Estuarine Batagur are among the most critically endangered chelonian species. We assess the taxonomic status of the recently discovered Cambodian relic population of Batagur by phylogenetic analyses of three mitochondrial (2096 bp) and three nuclear DNA fragments (1909 bp) using sequences from all other Batagur species and selected allied geoemydids. Furthermore, we calculated haplotype networks of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene for Cambodian terrapins, B. affinis, B. baska, and B. kachuga and compare external morphology of estuarine Batagur populations. Genetically, Cambodian Batagur are closely related with, but distinct from B. affinis from Sumatra and the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Morphologically, Cambodian Batagur resemble the distinctive B. affinis populations from the eastern Malay Peninsula that were not available for genetic study. We suggest that the Batagur populations from the eastern Malay Peninsula and Cambodia represent a new subspecies of B. affinis that once was distributed in estuaries surrounding the Gulf of Thailand (Batagur affinis edwardmolli subsp. nov.). Its patchy extant distribution is most probably the result of large-scale habitat alteration and century-long overexploitation. In addition, our phylogenetic analyses suggest repeated switches between riverine and estuarine habitats during the evolution of the extant Batagur species

“Into and out of” the Qinghai‐Tibet plateau and the Himalayas: centers of origin and diversification across five clades of Eurasian montane and alpine passerine birds

Encompassing some of the major hotspots of biodiversity on Earth, large mountain systems have long held the attention of evolutionary biologists. The region of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is considered a biogeographic source for multiple colonization events into adjacent areas including the northern Palearctic. The faunal exchange between the QTP and adjacent regions could thus represent a one‐way street (“out of” the QTP). However, immigration into the QTP region has so far received only little attention, despite its potential to shape faunal and floral communities of the QTP. In this study, we investigated centers of origin and dispersal routes between the QTP, its forested margins and adjacent regions for five clades of alpine and montane birds of the passerine superfamily Passeroidea. We performed an ancestral area reconstruction using BioGeoBEARS and inferred a time‐calibrated backbone phylogeny for 279 taxa of Passeroidea. The oldest endemic species of the QTP was dated to the early Miocene (ca. 20 Ma). Several additional QTP endemics evolved in the mid to late Miocene (12–7 Ma). The inferred centers of origin and diversification for some of our target clades matched the “out of Tibet hypothesis’ or the “out of Himalayas hypothesis” for others they matched the “into Tibet hypothesis.” Three radiations included multiple independent Pleistocene colonization events to regions as distant as the Western Palearctic and the Nearctic. We conclude that faunal exchange between the QTP and adjacent regions was bidirectional through time, and the QTP region has thus harbored both centers of diversification and centers of immigration

AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity

No evidence of a hybrid origin of the ashy‐throated parrotbill Sinosuthora alphonsiana

This mini‐review is dedicated to a critical re‐appraisal of the putative hybrid origin of the grey‐cheeked populations of the ashy‐throated parrotbill Sinosuthora alphonsiana that was postulated based on the results of a clustering analysis using a set of five nuclear loci. However, the number of genetically admixed individuals is lower than 10% in the proposed hybrid form and largely restricted to a single population in closest vicinity of one proposed parental taxon. Based on total evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear markers the proposed hybrid taxon is indistinguishable from the second postulated parental taxon. Wide‐range allelic introgression in a broad zone of range overlap along with incomplete lineage sorting of nuclear markers is a more plausible alternative explanation for the patterns observed. So far, there is no convincing evidence of a hybrid origin of the grey‐cheeked ashy‐throated parrotbill populations

FIGURE 3 in Song dialects as diagnostic characters - acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm 1883 and R. r. ellenthalerae Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae)

FIGURE 3. Scatterplot of discriminant function 1 vs. function 2 for subunits of main song part of Canarian Goldcrest dialects and for subsong trills.Published as part of <i>Päckert, Martin, 2006, Song dialects as diagnostic characters - acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm 1883 and R. r. ellenthalerae Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae), pp. 99-115 in Zootaxa 1325 (1)</i> on page 105, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1325.1.7, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10087603">http://zenodo.org/record/10087603</a&gt

FIGURES 5a–o in Song dialects as diagnostic characters - acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm 1883 and R. r. ellenthalerae Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae)

FIGURES 5a–o. Territorial song of Regulus regulus ellenthalerae, song types indicated on the sonagrams, lower left. El Hierro: a–b, song type A2 with interposed element (arrows) between units 1 and 2, two different males; c–g, song type E with two local rhythmic motifs of unit 2, three different males; h) variation of type A with call­like elements; La Palma: i–o, song type F with more or less extended ascending unit 2 consisting of diverse modulated element types, five different males (i, k: two strophes of one male).Published as part of <i>Päckert, Martin, 2006, Song dialects as diagnostic characters - acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm 1883 and R. r. ellenthalerae Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae), pp. 99-115 in Zootaxa 1325 (1)</i> on page 107, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1325.1.7, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10087603">http://zenodo.org/record/10087603</a&gt

FIGURES 4a–o in Song dialects as diagnostic characters - acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm 1883 and R. r. ellenthalerae Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae)

FIGURES 4a–o. Territorial song of Regulus regulus teneriffae, song types indicated on the sonagrams, lower left. La Gomera: a–d, song type A, strophes of four different males; Tenerife: e, g–h, song type A1 withfixed motiv I, strophes of three different males; f, rare song type F; i, song type B, male from Esperanza Forest; k–m, song type B, three different males from Anaga Mts; n, song type C, male from Anaga Mts; o, song type D, male from Anaga Mts.Published as part of <i>Päckert, Martin, 2006, Song dialects as diagnostic characters - acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm 1883 and R. r. ellenthalerae Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae), pp. 99-115 in Zootaxa 1325 (1)</i> on page 106, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1325.1.7, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10087603">http://zenodo.org/record/10087603</a&gt