Hirundinidae (1 Viewer)

Johnson, A. E., Mitchell, J. S. and Brown, M. B. (2016), Convergent evolution in social swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae). Ecology and Evolution, 00: 1–11. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2641

[full article]

Riparia

Manuel Schweizer, Yang Liu, Urban Olsson, Hadoram Shirihai, Qin Huang, Paul J. Leader, José Luis Copete, Guy M. Kirwan, Guoling Chen, Lars Svensson. Contrasting patterns of diversification in two sister species of martins (Aves: Hirundinidae): the Sand Martin Riparia riparia and the Pale Martin R. diluta. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 6 March 2018.

Abstract:

Species not only responded idiosyncratically to past climate changes, there were also regionally contrasting effects on spatio-temporal diversification patterns. Studies of closely related species appear to be a particularly promising comparative approach to disentangle such regionally differential impacts. In this study, we undertook a comprehensive geographic sampling to investigate the evolutionary history of the Holarctic Sand Martin Riparia riparia and the chiefly Central and East Asian Pale Martin R. diluta. Previous phylogenetic studies using only a limited geographic sampling, particularly for the latter, revealed the two to be genetically distinct, with the former showing only a shallow genetic structure in mitochondrial DNA. Based on one mitochondrial, one autosomal and one Z-linked nuclear marker, we confirmed the shallow genetic structure in R. riparia even when including the morphologically relatively distinct subspecies R. r. shelleyi from the Nile Valley in Egypt and probably the Middle East. On the other hand the different subspecies of R. diluta, i.e. R. d. diluta from Central Asia, R. d. indica from the northwestern Indian Subcontinent, R. d. tibetana from the Tibetan Plateau and R. d. fohkienensis from southwestern China, were found to be genetically distinct. Their diversification started before the Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition, which was followed by a pronounced succession of glacial and interglacial periods. These rather old divergence events contrast with the lack of any strong phylogeographic structure in R. riparia. Strongly structured populations and regional diversification have been reported in different forest passerine families of South-East Asia. Here we demonstrate, however, that species characteristic of open-country habitats such as R. diluta might display a similar pattern. Morphometric analyses of 120 individuals revealed no clear differences between the different subspecies of R. diluta. Given their similarity also in plumage features, we refrain from proposing any splits despite their marked genetic differentiation, pending further studies and particularly the discovery of potential secondary contact zones.

Forest Swallow

De Silva, Thilina; Fernando, Sumudu; Robbins, Mark; Cooper, Jacob; Fokam, Eric; Peterson, A. Townsend. Recognition of a New Generic-level Swallow Taxon from Central Africa. Journal of Avian Biology, recently accepted articles (10 April 2018).

Abstract:

The Forest Swallow Petrochelidon fuliginosa (Gill and Donsker 2014) is a little-known species endemic to lowland forests in central Africa; for lack of access to high-quality genetic material, the species has been omitted from all previous molecular phylogenetic studies of the swallows. The species is currently placed in the genus Petrochelidon, within the “mud-nester” clade of swallows, yet its plumage, morphology, and nesting behavior do not align well with those of other major swallow lineages. As a consequence, upon securing recent specimens and high-quality tissue samples, we sequenced DNA from two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear marker to place this species in the swallow phylogenetic tree. Our results placed the Forest Swallow firmly within the “mud nester” clade, but outside of the clade corresponding to Petrochelidon. This outcome led us to document and describe formally a distinct, generic-level lineage of swallow endemic to the Lower Guinean forest region of central Africa.

The important point

Atronanus , new genus

Type species.—Lecythoplastes fuliginosus Chapin 1925.
Referred species.—None.

Etymology.—By combining two descriptors, we emphasize the small size and dusky black plumage
of the only species referred to this genus. We combine the adjective atro, which means black, with the
masculine noun nanus, which means dwarf. The combination is thus masculine in gender.

Diagnosis.—The Forest Swallow is allocated to this genus based on a combination of molecular
genetic results and distinctive morphological characters: (1) small size and (2) dark brown and relatively
uniform plumage coloration with chin and throat rusty brown (Figure 1). Superficially, the Forest Swallow is
reminiscent of swiftlets ( Collocalia, Apodidae), but is also strikingly similar to the smaller-bodied members
of Psalidoprocne (e.g., P. nitens), albeit without the primary feather modifications that define
Psalidoprocne. Its placement within the “mud nester” clade is based on sequence data from multiple genes.

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E-only journal since 2015; currently no ZooBank registration; unless one is added in the VoR, this will remain unpublished... (

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been
through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to
differences between this version and the Version of Record.

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What does that mean? 🤔

LeNomenclatoriste said:

What does that mean?

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That the current version is not final. A version that is not final is never published under the Code, even if it includes ZooBank registration data.
In principle, a ZooBank LSID could be added outside of the text, as part of the final edition process, in the Version of Record (e.g., next to the title, à la Zootaxa; or at the very end of the paper). Zootaxa does this systematically for every paper they publish, even those that don't include new taxa (and despite they are not e-only). But this doesn't seem to be standard practice in J Avian Biol, so I fear this won't happen alone.

I hope it will be one day

Gedeon and Töpfer 2021. Is there an undescribed martin (Hirundinidae: Riparia) in Ethiopia? Bull ABC Vol 28 No 1 (pp 27-36).

Summary.

We report the discovery of a martin from Ethiopia that may represent a hitherto undescribed species. There are observations of at least 27 individuals from eight different sites between May 2013 and September 2019. The birds are similar to African Plain Martin Riparia paludicola, but distinguished from the latter by the all-white underparts from the chin to the undertail-coverts, greyer upperparts and a dark mask in front of the eyes. They differ from Ptyonoprogne species by their smaller size and lack of white tail spots. Sympatry with R. paludicola and pronounced vocal differences likewise suggest specific differentiation. We strongly encourage further taxonomic and molecular studies, including the collection of specimens.

A third unknown swallow from the region, besides Red Sea Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon perdita and 'unidentified cliff swallows in Awash NP and the RiftV alley in Et in 1988 (and subsequently)' mentioned in Birds of the Horn of Africa?

jurek said:

A third unknown swallow from the region, besides Red Sea Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon perdita and 'unidentified cliff swallows in Awash NP and the RiftV alley in Et in 1988 (and subsequently)' mentioned in Birds of the Horn of Africa?

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Approximately 1180 km between the single specimen of Red Sea Cliff Swallow and the Awash birds...

My long-shot bet for a remote nest site for the former, should it be a valid taxon and still exist, are the cliffs on or near the south bank of the Nile west of Abu Hamad, centred on 19.52N, 33.03E, where the north-flowing river turns west then southwest towards Merowe...
MJB

Tang, Q., Burri, R., Liu, Y., Suh, A., Gombobaatar, S., Heckel, G. and Schweizer, M. (2021), Seasonal migration patterns and the maintenance of evolutionary diversity in a cryptic bird radiation. Molecular Ecology. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16241

Morphological differentiation associated with evolutionary diversification is often explained with adaptive benefits but the processes and mechanisms maintaining cryptic diversity are still poorly understood. Using genome-wide data, we show here that the pale sand martin Riparia diluta in Central and East Asia consists of three genetically deeply differentiated lineages which vary only gradually in morphology but broadly reflect traditional taxonomy. We detected no signs of gene flow along the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau between lowland south-eastern Chinese R. d. fohkienensis and high-altitude R. d. tibetana. Largely different breeding and migration timing between these low and high altitude populations as indicated by phenology data suggests that allochrony might act as prezygotic isolation mechanism in the area where their ranges abut. Mongolian populations of R. d. tibetana, however, displayed signs of limited mixed ancestries with Central Asian R. d. diluta. Their ranges meet in the area of a well-known avian migratory divide, where western lineages take a western migration route around the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau to winter quarters in South Asia, and eastern lineages take an eastern route to Southeast Asia. This might also be the case between western R. d. diluta and eastern R. d. tibetana as indicated by differing wintering grounds. We hypothesize that hybrids might have non-optimal intermediate migration routes and selection against them might restrict gene flow. Although further potential isolation mechanisms might exist in the pale sand martin, our study points towards contrasting migration behaviour as an important factor in maintaining evolutionary diversity under morphological stasis.

Jacana said:

Tang, Q., Burri, R., Liu, Y., Suh, A., Gombobaatar, S., Heckel, G. and Schweizer, M. (2021), Seasonal migration patterns and the maintenance of evolutionary diversity in a cryptic bird radiation. Molecular Ecology. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16241

Morphological differentiation associated with evolutionary diversification is often explained with adaptive benefits but the processes and mechanisms maintaining cryptic diversity are still poorly understood. Using genome-wide data, we show here that the pale sand martin Riparia diluta in Central and East Asia consists of three genetically deeply differentiated lineages which vary only gradually in morphology but broadly reflect traditional taxonomy. We detected no signs of gene flow along the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau between lowland south-eastern Chinese R. d. fohkienensis and high-altitude R. d. tibetana. Largely different breeding and migration timing between these low and high altitude populations as indicated by phenology data suggests that allochrony might act as prezygotic isolation mechanism in the area where their ranges abut. Mongolian populations of R. d. tibetana, however, displayed signs of limited mixed ancestries with Central Asian R. d. diluta. Their ranges meet in the area of a well-known avian migratory divide, where western lineages take a western migration route around the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau to winter quarters in South Asia, and eastern lineages take an eastern route to Southeast Asia. This might also be the case between western R. d. diluta and eastern R. d. tibetana as indicated by differing wintering grounds. We hypothesize that hybrids might have non-optimal intermediate migration routes and selection against them might restrict gene flow. Although further potential isolation mechanisms might exist in the pale sand martin, our study points towards contrasting migration behaviour as an important factor in maintaining evolutionary diversity under morphological stasis.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1451297774302081028

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Wonder if this has any implications for Bank Swallow/Sand Martin?

Mysticete said:

Wonder if this has any implications for Bank Swallow/Sand Martin?

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What I've seen from other papers (such as Schweizer et al, 2018), there's very little differentiation between R. riparia, either side of the Pacific. No doubt it would warrant a deeper look in the future though.

On an entirely different note, I've just become even more of a fan of the Tang paper as I just realised today that they cited me

Mysticete said:

Wonder if this has any implications for Bank Swallow/Sand Martin?

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From the paper: "The strong differentiation in genetically distinct but morphologically cryptic lineages within R. diluta is in stark contrast with the lack of any phylogeographic structure in its sister species, the collared sand martin R. riparia, in our study region."

That suggests that the potential for any splits in Bank Swallow/Sand Martin is low, and is reinforced by: "Geographically widespread nuclear homogeneity in R. riparia is in agreement with shallow mtDNA diversity over its entire Holarctic breeding range indicating recent demographic expansion."
MJB

Turbek, S. P., D. R. Schield, E. S. C. Scordato, A. Contina, A., X.-W. Da, Y. Liu, Y. Liu, E. Pagani-Núñez, Q.-M. Ren, X. C. R. Smith, C. A. Stricker, M. Wunder, D. M. Zonana, and R. J. Safran (2022) A migratory divide spanning two continents is associated with genomic and ecological divergence. Evolution.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14448

Abstract
Migratory divides are contact zones between breeding populations with divergent migratory strategies during the nonbreeding season. These locations provide an opportunity to evaluate the role of seasonal migration in the maintenance of reproductive isolation, particularly the relationship between population structure and features associated with distinct migratory strategies. We combine light-level geolocators, genomic sequencing, and stable isotopes to investigate the timing of migration and migratory routes of individuals breeding on either side of a migratory divide coinciding with genomic differentiation across a hybrid zone between barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) subspecies in China. Individuals west of the hybrid zone, with H. r. rustica ancestry, had comparatively enriched stable-carbon and hydrogen isotope values and overwintered in eastern Africa, whereas birds east of the hybrid zone, with H. r. gutturalis ancestry, had depleted isotope values and migrated to southern India. The two subspecies took divergent migratory routes around the high-altitude Karakoram Range and arrived on the breeding grounds over 3 weeks apart. These results indicate that assortative mating by timing of arrival and/or selection against hybrids with intermediate migratory traits may maintain reproductive isolation between the subspecies, and that inhospitable geographic features may have contributed to the diversification of Asian avifauna by influencing migratory patterns.

Gianluca Lombardo, Nicola Rambaldi Migliore, Giulia Colombo, Marco Rosario Capodiferro, Giulio Formenti, Manuela Caprioli, Elisabetta Moroni, Leonardo Caporali, Hovirag Lancioni, Simona Secomandi, Guido Roberto Gallo, Alessandra Costanzo, Andrea Romano, Maria Garofalo, Cristina Cereda, Valerio Carelli, Lauren Gillespie, Yang Liu, Yosef Kiat, Alfonso Marzal, Cosme López-Calderón, Javier Balbontín, Timothy A. Mousseau, Piotr Matyjasiak, Anders Pape Møller, Ornella Semino, Roberto Ambrosini, Andrea Bonisoli Alquati, Diego Rubolini, Luca Ferretti, Alessandro Achilli, Luca Gianfranceschi, Anna Olivieri, and Antonio Torroni. 2022. The mitogenome relationships and phylogeography of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). Molecular Biology and Evolution msac113. Published online 25 May 2022.
Mitogenome Relationships and Phylogeography of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica)

Abstract
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) poses a number of fascinating scientific questions, including the taxonomic status of postulated subspecies. Here we obtained and assessed the sequence variation of 411 complete mitogenomes, mainly from the European H. r. rustica, but other subspecies as well. In almost every case, we observed subspecies-specific haplogroups, which we employed together with estimated radiation times to postulate a model for the geographical and temporal worldwide spread of the species. The female barn swallow carrying the Hirundo rustica ancestral mitogenome left Africa (or its vicinity) around 280 thousand years ago (kya), and her descendants expanded first into Eurasia and then, at least 51 kya, into the Americas, from where a relatively recent (< 20 kya) back migration to Asia took place. The exception to the haplogroup subspecies specificity is represented by the sedentary Levantine H. r. transitiva that extensively shares haplogroup A with the migratory European H. r. rustica and, to a lesser extent, haplogroup B with the Egyptian H. r. savignii. Our data indicate that rustica and transitiva most likely derive from a sedentary Levantine population source that split at the end of the Younger Dryas (11.7 kya). Since then, however, transitiva received genetic inputs from and admixed with both the closely related rustica and the adjacent savignii. Demographic analyses confirm this species’ strong link with climate fluctuations and human activities making it an excellent indicator for monitoring and assessing the impact of current global changes on wildlife.

Peter Kovalik said:

Gianluca Lombardo, Nicola Rambaldi Migliore, Giulia Colombo, Marco Rosario Capodiferro, Giulio Formenti, Manuela Caprioli, Elisabetta Moroni, Leonardo Caporali, Hovirag Lancioni, Simona Secomandi, Guido Roberto Gallo, Alessandra Costanzo, Andrea Romano, Maria Garofalo, Cristina Cereda, Valerio Carelli, Lauren Gillespie, Yang Liu, Yosef Kiat, Alfonso Marzal, Cosme López-Calderón, Javier Balbontín, Timothy A. Mousseau, Piotr Matyjasiak, Anders Pape Møller, Ornella Semino, Roberto Ambrosini, Andrea Bonisoli Alquati, Diego Rubolini, Luca Ferretti, Alessandro Achilli, Luca Gianfranceschi, Anna Olivieri, and Antonio Torroni. 2022. The mitogenome relationships and phylogeography of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). Molecular Biology and Evolution msac113. Published online 25 May 2022.
Mitogenome Relationships and Phylogeography of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica)

Abstract
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) poses a number of fascinating scientific questions, including the taxonomic status of postulated subspecies. Here we obtained and assessed the sequence variation of 411 complete mitogenomes, mainly from the European H. r. rustica, but other subspecies as well. In almost every case, we observed subspecies-specific haplogroups, which we employed together with estimated radiation times to postulate a model for the geographical and temporal worldwide spread of the species. The female barn swallow carrying the Hirundo rustica ancestral mitogenome left Africa (or its vicinity) around 280 thousand years ago (kya), and her descendants expanded first into Eurasia and then, at least 51 kya, into the Americas, from where a relatively recent (< 20 kya) back migration to Asia took place. The exception to the haplogroup subspecies specificity is represented by the sedentary Levantine H. r. transitiva that extensively shares haplogroup A with the migratory European H. r. rustica and, to a lesser extent, haplogroup B with the Egyptian H. r. savignii. Our data indicate that rustica and transitiva most likely derive from a sedentary Levantine population source that split at the end of the Younger Dryas (11.7 kya). Since then, however, transitiva received genetic inputs from and admixed with both the closely related rustica and the adjacent savignii. Demographic analyses confirm this species’ strong link with climate fluctuations and human activities making it an excellent indicator for monitoring and assessing the impact of current global changes on wildlife.

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Possibility of making two species?

Jim LeNomenclatoriste said:

Possibility of making two species?

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Can you explain? I feel like this short paper went through pains to describe how they identified genes which moved back and forth across continents. I understand that you are supposing a west Asian/European and an east Asian/American phylogenetic species, but why that instead of three or one?

The introduction talks early about the similarity and mixture of nuclear DNA. I took this study to be mostly about lineage history and gene tracing - am I missing anything else?

Kirk Roth said:

Can you explain? I feel like this short paper went through pains to describe how they identified genes which moved back and forth across continents. I understand that you are supposing a west Asian/European and an east Asian/American phylogenetic species, but why that instead of three or one?

The introduction talks early about the similarity and mixture of nuclear DNA. I took this study to be mostly about lineage history and gene tracing - am I missing anything else?

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I just wanted to know, in a short way, if the two main lineages were sufficiently divergent to be treated as two biological species : rustica and erythrogaster