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(Not only) Thamnophilidae (2 Viewers)

Musher, L.J., G. Del-Rio, R.S. Marcondes, R.T. Brumfield, G.A. Bravo, and G. Thom (2023)
Geogenomic predictors of genetree heterogeneity explain phylogeographic and introgression history: a case study in an Amazonian bird (Thamnophilus aethiops)
Systematic Biology (advance online publication)
doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syad061

Can knowledge about genome architecture inform biogeographic and phylogenetic inference? Selection, drift, recombination, and gene flow interact to produce a genomic landscape of divergence wherein patterns of differentiation and genealogy vary nonrandomly across the genomes of diverging populations. For instance, genealogical patterns that arise due to gene flow should be more likely to occur on smaller chromosomes, which experience high recombination, whereas those tracking histories of geographic isolation (reduced gene flow caused by a barrier) and divergence should be more likely to occur on larger and sex chromosomes. In Amazonia, populations of many bird species diverge and introgress across rivers, resulting in reticulated genomic signals. Herein, we used reduced representation genomic data to disentangle the evolutionary history of four populations of an Amazonian antbird, Thamnophilus aethiops, whose biogeographic history was associated with the dynamic evolution of the Madeira River Basin. Specifically, we evaluate whether a large river capture event ca. 200 Ka, gave rise to reticulated genealogies in the genome by making spatially explicit predictions about isolation and gene flow based on knowledge about genomic processes. We first estimated chromosome-level phylogenies and recovered two primary topologies across the genome. The first topology (T1) was most consistent with predictions about population divergence and was recovered for the Z chromosome. The second (T2), was consistent with predictions about gene flow upon secondary contact. To evaluate support for these topologies, we trained a convolutional neural network to classify our data into alternative diversification models and estimate demographic parameters. The best-fit model was concordant with T1 and included gene flow between non-sister taxa. Finally, we modeled levels of divergence and introgression as functions of chromosome length and found that smaller chromosomes experienced higher gene flow. Given that (1) gene-trees supporting T2 were more likely to occur on smaller chromosomes and (2) we found lower levels of introgression on larger chromosomes (and especially the Z-chromosome), we argue that T1 represents the history of population divergence across rivers and T2 the history of secondary contact due to barrier loss. Our results suggest that a significant portion of genomic heterogeneity arises due to extrinsic biogeographic processes such as river capture interacting with intrinsic processes associated with genome architecture. Future phylogeographic studies would benefit from accounting for genomic processes, as different parts of the genome reveal contrasting, albeit complementary histories, all of which are relevant for disentangling the intricate geogenomic mechanisms of biotic diversification.
 
Lima, R.D., A.C. Fazza, M. Maldonado-Coelho, C.Y. Miyaki, and V.Q. Piacentini (2024)
Taxonomic revision of the Scaled Antbird Drymophila squamata (Aves: Thamnophilidae) reveals a new and critically endangered taxon from northeastern Brazil
Zootaxa 5410: 573–585
doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5410.4.8

The Scaled Antbird Drymophila squamata is a suboscine passerine endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Two subspecies, putatively diagnosed by the presence/absence of white spots on the crown, have traditionally been recognized: the nominate, ranging from Pernambuco to Bahia in northeastern Brazil, and D. squamata stictocorypha, from Minas Gerais to Santa Catarina in southeastern and southern Brazil. Here we combine morphological, acoustic, and genetic data to examine geographic variation in and revise the taxonomy of D. squamata. We show that there are two separately evolving population lineages in D. squamata, one south and the other north of the São Francisco River. The latter is unnamed and is thus described herein. We found that crown variation is not as geographically structured as previously thought, and thus we suggest that D. squamata stictocorypha is not a valid taxon. Finally, we also provide evidence of clinal variation in the species’ vocalizations and underscore the importance of broad geographic sampling when assessing species limits using vocalizations.
 

Lima, R.D., A.C. Fazza, M. Maldonado-Coelho, C.Y. Miyaki, and V.Q. Piacentini (2024)
Taxonomic revision of the Scaled Antbird Drymophila squamata (Aves: Thamnophilidae) reveals a new and critically endangered taxon from northeastern Brazil
Zootaxa 5410: 573–585
doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5410.4.8

The Scaled Antbird Drymophila squamata is a suboscine passerine endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Two subspecies, putatively diagnosed by the presence/absence of white spots on the crown, have traditionally been recognized: the nominate, ranging from Pernambuco to Bahia in northeastern Brazil, and D. squamata stictocorypha, from Minas Gerais to Santa Catarina in southeastern and southern Brazil. Here we combine morphological, acoustic, and genetic data to examine geographic variation in and revise the taxonomy of D. squamata. We show that there are two separately evolving population lineages in D. squamata, one south and the other north of the São Francisco River. The latter is unnamed and is thus described herein. We found that crown variation is not as geographically structured as previously thought, and thus we suggest that D. squamata stictocorypha is not a valid taxon. Finally, we also provide evidence of clinal variation in the species’ vocalizations and underscore the importance of broad geographic sampling when assessing species limits using vocalizations.
The new species is Drymophila selenosticta Piacentini & al., 2024
 
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Is it definitely a species or could it be a subspecies? They simply call it 'taxon' in their abstract, which could mean a lot of things
Brazilians tend to follow a "splitting" taxonomy. So it remains to be seen what SACC (at the opposite end of the taxonomic spectrum) will make of it.
 
Is it definitely a species or could it be a subspecies? They simply call it 'taxon' in their abstract, which could mean a lot of things
I would love a pdf of the paper if anyone has access, antbirds are awesome and Drymophila are some of the awesomest antbirds. If I understand the abstract correctly, the birds in Bahia, the only place where I have seen Scaled Antbird, are the new taxon.

However if, as the abstract says, vocal variation is clinal, I cannot see SACC recognizing the new taxon as a full species. Such an approach would also match what I intuitively, as a birder and not a taxonomist, would understand as a species. If plumage differences are really minor and if voice, probably the most important aspect in defining species limits in antbirds (at least using the BSC) varies clinally, then to me all of the taxa in Scaled Antbird are essentially "the same thing".
 
I would love a pdf of the paper if anyone has access, antbirds are awesome and Drymophila are some of the awesomest antbirds. If I understand the abstract correctly, the birds in Bahia, the only place where I have seen Scaled Antbird, are the new taxon.

However if, as the abstract says, vocal variation is clinal, I cannot see SACC recognizing the new taxon as a full species. Such an approach would also match what I intuitively, as a birder and not a taxonomist, would understand as a species. If plumage differences are really minor and if voice, probably the most important aspect in defining species limits in antbirds (at least using the BSC) varies clinally, then to me all of the taxa in Scaled Antbird are essentially "the same thing".
Would also love to read the paper if anyone has a copy to spare :)
 
If I read the abstract correctly, selenosticta is north of the São Francisco River. This means Pernambuco/Alagoas.
This also explains why it is critically endangered...

The clinal variation in vocalisation and "unstructured" crown variation could well pertain to the main population (the one from Sergipe to Santa Catarina).

Here we combine morphological, acoustic, and genetic data to examine geographic variation in and revise the taxonomy of D. squamata. We show that there are two separately evolving population lineages in D. squamata, one south and the other north of the São Francisco River. The latter is unnamed and is thus described herein. We found that crown variation is not as geographically structured as previously thought, and thus we suggest that D. squamata stictocorypha is not a valid taxon. Finally, we also provide evidence of clinal variation in the species’ vocalizations and underscore the importance of broad geographic sampling when assessing species limits using vocalizations.
 
If I read the abstract correctly, selenosticta is north of the São Francisco River. This means Pernambuco/Alagoas.
This also explains why it is critically endangered...
Yes, you are right, I misread the abstract.

I guess one would need access to the full paper to be sure whether the clinal variation in voice they refer to applies to the Scaled Antbird as a whole or just to the taxon south of the Rio Sao Francisco, though I understood it as the former.
 
I heard and saw Scaled Antbird @ Murici and didn't notice anything particularly different about it at the time. A first round of 10 minutes of listening to recordings on XC now is not particularly convincing. The São Francisco river is one of the most important biogeographic boundaries in E Brazil, of course, and I'd also be keen to see the paper and the genetic analysis.
 
I would love a pdf of the paper if anyone has access, antbirds are awesome and Drymophila are some of the awesomest antbirds. If I understand the abstract correctly, the birds in Bahia, the only place where I have seen Scaled Antbird, are the new taxon.

However if, as the abstract says, vocal variation is clinal, I cannot see SACC recognizing the new taxon as a full species. Such an approach would also match what I intuitively, as a birder and not a taxonomist, would understand as a species. If plumage differences are really minor and if voice, probably the most important aspect in defining species limits in antbirds (at least using the BSC) varies clinally, then to me all of the taxa in Scaled Antbird are essentially "the same thing".
 

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