ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1982-6051
Current Organisation
University of California, Irvine
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Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-10-2023
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-09-2014
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.103291
Abstract: Carefully controlled gas exchange across the eggshell is essential for the development of the avian embryo. Water vapour conductance (GH2O) across the shell, typically measured as mass loss during incubation, has been demonstrated to optimally ensure the healthy development of the embryo while avoiding desiccation. Accordingly, eggs exposed to sub-optimal gas exchange have reduced hatching success. We tested the association between eggshell GH2O and putative life-history correlates of adult birds, ecological nest parameters and physical characteristics of the egg itself to investigate how variation in GH2O has evolved to maintain optimal water loss across a erse set of nest environments. We measured gas exchange through eggshell fragments in 151 British breeding bird species and fitted phylogenetically controlled, general linear models to test the relationship between GH2O and potential predictor parameters of each species. Of our 17 life-history traits, only two were retained in the final model: wet-incubating parent and nest type. Eggs of species where the parent habitually returned to the nest with wet plumage had significantly higher GH2O than those of parents that returned to the nest with dry plumage. Eggs of species nesting in ground burrows, cliffs and arboreal cups had significantly higher GH2O than those of species nesting on the ground in open nests or cups, in tree cavities and in shallow arboreal nests. Phylogenetic signal (measured as Pagel's λ) was intermediate in magnitude, suggesting that differences observed in the GH2O are dependent upon a combination of shared ancestry and species-specific life history and ecological traits. Although these data are correlational by nature, they are consistent with the hypothesis that parents constrained to return to the nest with wet plumage will increase the humidity of the nest environment, and the eggs of these species have evolved a higher GH2O to overcome this constraint and still achieve optimal water loss during incubation. We also suggest that eggs laid in cup nests and burrows may require a higher GH2O to overcome the increased humidity as a result from the confined nest microclimate lacking air movements through the nest. Taken together, these comparative data imply that species-specific levels of gas exchange across avian eggshells are variable and evolve in response to ecological and physical variation resulting from parental and nesting behaviours.
Publisher: EMBO
Date: 07-07-2021
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-2020
Abstract: Analyses of morphological disparity have been used to characterize and investigate the evolution of variation in the anatomy, function and ecology of organisms since the 1980s. While a ersity of methods have been employed, it is unclear whether they provide equivalent insights. Here, we review the most commonly used approaches for characterizing and analysing morphological disparity, all of which have associated limitations that, if ignored, can lead to misinterpretation. We propose best practice guidelines for disparity analyses, while noting that there can be no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. The available tools should always be used in the context of a specific biological question that will determine data and method selection at every stage of the analysis.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 12-08-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.08.12.503188
Abstract: 1 Widely documented, megaevolutionary jumps in phenotypic ersity continue to perplex researchers because it remains unclear whether these dramatic changes can emerge from microevolutionary processes. Here we tackle this question using new approaches for modeling multivariate traits to evaluate the magnitude and distribution of elaboration and innovation in the evolution of bird beaks. We find that elaboration, evolution along the major axis of phenotypic change, is common at both macro- and megaevo-lutionary scales whereas innovation, evolution away from the major axis of phenotypic change, is more prominent at megaevolutionary scales. Indeed, the major axis of phenotypic change among species beak shapes at megaevolutionary scales is an emergent property of innovation across clades. Our analyses suggest that the reorientation of phenotypes via innovation is a ubiquitous route for ergence that can arise through gradual change alone, opening up new avenues for evolution to explore.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 09-09-2023
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 03-11-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.02.514877
Abstract: In the face of rapid global change and an uncertain fate for bio ersity, it is vital to quantify trends in wild populations. These trends are typically estimated from abundance time series for suites of species across large geographic and temporal scales. Such data implicitly contain phylogenetic, spatial, and temporal structure which, if not properly accounted for, may obscure the true magnitude and direction of bio ersity change. Here, using a novel statistical framework to simultaneously account for all three of these structures, we show that the majority of current abundance trends estimates among 10 high-profile datasets, representing millions of abundance observations, are likely unreliable or incorrect. Our new approach suggests that previous models are too simplistic, incorrectly estimating global abundance trends and often dramatically underestimating uncertainty, an aspect that is critical when translating global assessments into policy outcomes. Further, our approach also results in substantial improvements in abundance forecasting accuracy. Whilst our results do not improve the outlook for bio ersity, our framework does allow us to make more robust estimates of global wildlife abundance trends, which is critical for developing policy to protect our biosphere.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-05-2012
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United States of America
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Start Date: 2020
End Date: 2024
Funder: Natural Environment Research Council
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