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Population sizes of endemic songbirds on Kaua‘i have decreased by an order of magnitude over the past 10–15 years to dangerously low numbers. The primary cause appears to be the ascent of invasive mosquitoes and Plasmodium relictum, the agent of avian malaria, into elevations formerly free of introduced malarial parasites and their vectors. Given that these declines in native bird populations appear to be continuing, last resort measures to save these species from extinction, such as conservation breeding, are being implemented. Using 200–1439 SNPs from across the genome, we assessed kinship among individuals, levels of genetic variation, and extent of population decline in wild birds of the two most critically endangered Kaua‘i endemic species, the ‘akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi) and ‘akeke‘e (Loxops caeruleirostris). We found relatively high genomic diversity within individuals and little evidence of spatial population genetic structure. Populations displayed genomic signatures of declining population size, but individual inbreeding coefficients were universally negative, likely indicating inbreeding avoidance. Diversity within the founding conservation breeding population largely mirrored that in the wild, indicating that genetic variation in the conservation breeding population is representative of the wild population and suggesting that the current breeding program captures existing variation. Thus, although existing genetic diversity is likely lower than in historical populations, contemporary variation has been retained through high gene flow and inbreeding avoidance. Nonetheless, current effective population size for both species was estimated at fewer than 20 individuals, highlighting the urgency of management actions to protect these species.

Populations in the Rufous Antpitta (Grallaria rufula) complex occupy humid montane forests of the Andes from northern Colombia and adjacent Venezuela to central Bolivia. Their tawny to cinnamon-colored plumages are generally uniform, featuring subtle variation in hue and saturation across this range. In contrast to their conservative plumage, substantial vocal differences occur among geographically isolated or parapatric populations. Working within the framework of a comprehensive molecular phylogeny, we reexamined species limits in the G. rufula complex, basing taxonomic recommendations on diagnostic differences in vocalizations and considering identifiable differences in plumage where pertinent. We identified 16 populations for species designation, including seven populations previously described as subspecies and, remarkably, six new species described herein. Within one of these species, we identified less robust vocal differences between populations that we designate as subspecies. Geographic variation exists within another species, but its critical evaluation requires additional material. Taxonomic revisions of groups consisting of cryptic species, like the Grallaria rufula complex, are imperative for their conservation. Rather than widespread species as currently defined, these complexes can comprise many range-restricted taxa at higher risk of extinction given the continuing human pressures on their habitats.

Host-parasite coevolutionary histories can differ among multiple groups of parasites associated with the same group of hosts. For example, parasitic wing and body lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) of New World pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbidae) differ in their cophylogenetic patterns, with body lice exhibiting higher phylogenetic congruence with their hosts than wing lice. In this study, we focus on the wing and body lice of Australian phabine pigeons and doves to determine whether the patterns in New World pigeons and doves are consistent with those of pigeons and doves from other regions. Using molecular sequence data for most phabine species and their lice, we estimated phylogenetic trees for all three groups (pigeons and doves, wing lice and body lice), and compared the phabine (host) tree with both parasite trees using multiple cophylogenetic methods. We found a pattern opposite to that found for New World pigeons and doves, with Australian wing lice showing congruence with their hosts, and body lice exhibiting a lack of congruence. There are no documented records of hippoboscid flies associated with Australian phabines, thus these lice may lack the opportunity to disperse among host species by attaching to hippoboscid flies (phoresis), which could explain these patterns. However, additional sampling for flies is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Large differences in body size among phabine pigeons and doves may also help to explain the congruence of the wing lice with their hosts. It may be more difficult for wing lice than body lice to switch among hosts that vary more dramatically in size. The results from this study highlight how host-parasite coevolutionary histories can vary by region, and how local factors can shape the relationship.

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.

Recent reviews identified the reliance on fecal or cloacal samples as a significant limitation hindering our understanding of the avian gastrointestinal (gut) microbiota and its function. We investigated the microbiota of the esophagus, duodenum, cecum, and colon of a wild urban population of Canada goose (Branta canadensis). From a population sample of 30 individuals, we sequenced the V4 region of the 16S SSU rRNA on an Illumina MiSeq and obtained 8,628,751 sequences with a median of 76,529 per sample. These sequences were assigned to 420 bacterial OTUs and a single archaeon. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes accounted for 90% of all sequences. Microbiotas from the four gut regions differed significantly in their richness, composition, and variability among individuals. Microbial communities of the esophagus were the most distinctive whereas those of the colon were the least distinctive, reflecting the physical downstream mixing of regional microbiotas. The downstream mixing of regional microbiotas was also responsible for the majority of observed co-occurrence patterns among microbial families. Our results indicate that fecal and cloacal samples inadequately represent the complex patterns of richness, composition, and variability of the gut microbiota and obscure patterns of co-occurrence of microbial lineages.

Cinclodes is an ecologically diverse genus of South American passerine birds and represents a case of continental adaptive radiation along multiple axes. We investigated morphological diversification in Cinclodes using a comprehensive set of morphometric measurements of study skins. Principal component analysis identified 2 primary axes of morphological variation: one describing body size and a second capturing differences in wing-tip shape and toe length. Phylogenetic analyses of the first principal component suggest an early divergence of Cinclodes into 2 main clades characterized by large and small body sizes. We suggest that 2 morphological outliers within these main clades (C. antarcticus and C. palliatus) may be cases of island gigantism and that a third (C. patagonicus) may reflect ecological character displacement. Despite its ecological and physiological diversity, the genus Cinclodes does not appear to show morphological diversity beyond what is typical of other avian genera.

We investigated the phylogenetic relationships of Campylorhamphus pucherani using DNA sequences from three mitochondrial genes and a nuclear intron, as well as 84 morphological characters from the skeleton, the integument, and the musculature. The molecular phylogeny indicated that C. pucherani is not part of Campylorhamphus; instead, it is the sister species to Drymornis bridgesii, in a clade that also contains Lepidocolaptes. The morphological phylogeny also placed C. pucherani in a clade that contains Drymornis and Lepidocolaptes. Using a morphometric analysis of size and shape diversity, we demonstrated that the inclusion of C. pucherani in Drymornis would create an excessively heterogeneous genus compared with other dendrocolaptine genera. Because no generic name is available for C. pucherani, we describe the new genus Drymotoxeres for this species.

The infraorder Furnariides is a diverse group of suboscine passerine birds comprising a substantial component of the Neotropical avifauna. The included species encompass a broad array of morphologies and behaviours, making them appealing for evolutionary studies, but the size of the group (ca. 600 species) has limited well-sampled higher-level phylogenetic studies. Using DNA sequence data from the nuclear RAG-1 and RAG-2 exons, we undertook a phylogenetic analysis of the Furnariides sampling 124 (more than 88%) of the genera. Basal relationships among family-level taxa differed depending on phylogenetic method, but all topologies had little nodal support, mirroring the results from earlier studies in which discerning relationships at the base of the radiation was also difficult. In contrast, branch support for family-rank taxa and for many relationships within those clades was generally high. Our results support the Melanopareidae and Grallariidae as distinct from the Rhinocryptidae and Formicariidae, respectively. Within the Furnariides our data contradict some recent phylogenetic hypotheses and suggest that further study is needed to resolve these discrepancies. Of the few genera represented by multiple species, several were not monophyletic, indicating that additional systematic work remains within furnariine families and must include dense taxon sampling. We use this study as a basis for proposing a new phylogenetic classification for the group and in the process erect new family-group names for clades having high branch support across methods.

Two Australian species of teal (Anseriformes: Anatidae: Anas), the grey teal Anas gracilis and the chestnut teal A. castanea, are remarkable for the zero or near-zero divergence recorded between them in earlier surveys of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity. We confirmed this result through wider geographical and population sampling as well as nucleotide sampling in the more rapidly evolving mtDNA control region. Any data set where two species share polymorphism as is the case here can be explained by a model of gene flow through hybridization on one hand or by incomplete lineage sorting on the other hand. Ideally, analysis of such shared polymorphism would simultaneously estimate the likelihood of both phenomena. To do this, we used the underlying principle of the IMa package to explore ramifications to understanding population histories of A. gracilis and A. castanea. We cannot reject that hybridization occurs between the two species but an equally or more plausible finding for their nearly zero divergence is incomplete sorting following very recent divergence between the two, probably in the mid-late Pleistocene. Our data add to studies that explore intermediate stages in the evolution of reciprocal monophyly and paraphyletic or polyphyletic relationships in mtDNA diversity among widespread Australian birds.

Evolutionary relationships of the scrub-birds Atrichornis were investigated using complete sequences of the recombination-activating gene RAG-1 and the proto-oncogene c-mos for two individuals of the noisy scrub-bird Atrichornis clamosus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Atrichornis was sister to the genus Menura (the lyrebirds) and that these two genera (the Menurae) were sister to the rest of the oscine passerines. A sister relationship between Atrichornis and Menura supports the traditional view, based on morphology and DNA hybridization, that these taxa are closely related. Similarly, a sister relationship with the remaining oscine passerines agrees with the morphological distinctiveness of Atrichornis and Menura, although this result contradicts conclusions based on DNA hybridization studies. Although Atrichornis is very well known morphologically, previous conclusions regarding its relationships were hampered by a lack of comparative knowledge of other passerines, making concurrence of the sequence data of particular significance.

Tarphonomus, a new genus of ovenbird (Aves: Passeriformes: Furnariidae) from South America, is described. Species included in the new genus, formerly placed in Upucerthia, are T. certhioides and T. harterti.

A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Thamnophilidae indicated that the genus Myrmotherula is not monophyletic. The clade composed of M. guttata and M. hauxwelli is only distantly related to other members of the genus and should be removed from Myrmotherula. The phenotypic distinctiveness of the clade argues against merging it with its sister group Thamnomanes and no generic name is available for the guttata-hauxwelli clade. Consequently, we describe the genus Isleria for these two species, and designate Myrmothera guttata as its type species.

The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) spread out of Asia to become one of the world’s worst agricultural and urban pests, and a reservoir or vector of numerous zoonotic diseases, including the devastating plague. Despite the global scale and inestimable cost of their impacts on both human livelihoods and natural ecosystems, little is known of the global genetic diversity of Black Rats, the timing and directions of their historical dispersals, and the risks associated with contemporary movements. We surveyed mitochondrial DNA of Black Rats collected across their global range as a first step towards obtaining an historical genetic perspective on this socioeconomically important group of rodents. We found a strong phylogeographic pattern with well-differentiated lineages of Black Rats native to South Asia, the Himalayan region, southern Indochina, and northern Indochina to East Asia, and a diversification that probably commenced in the early Middle Pleistocene. We also identified two other currently recognised species of Rattus as potential derivatives of a paraphyletic R. rattus. Three of the four phylogenetic lineage units within R. rattus show clear genetic signatures of major population expansion in prehistoric times, and the distribution of particular haplogroups mirrors archaeologically and historically documented patterns of human dispersal and trade. Commensalism clearly arose multiple times in R. rattus and in widely separated geographic regions, and this may account for apparent regionalism in their associated pathogens. Our findings represent an important step towards deeper understanding the complex and influential relationship that has developed between Black Rats and humans, and invite a thorough re-examination of host-pathogen associations among Black Rats. Citation: Aplin KP, Suzuki H, Chinen AA, Chesser RT, ten Have J, et al. (2011) Multiple Geographic Origins of Commensalism and Complex Dispersal History of

Phylogenetic analysis of the family Dendrocolaptidae (Aves: Passeriformes) indicates that the two species traditionally placed in the genus Deconychura are not sister taxa. Certhiasomus, a new genus of woodcreeper, is described for one of these species, C. stictolaemus.

The avian genus Upucerthia was until recently considered to consist of nine species (Sibley and Monroe 1990, Dickinson 2003, Remsen 2003) of mainly terrestrial ovenbirds, commonly known as earthcreepers. Recent molecular studies of the genus (Chesser et al. 2007, Fjeldså et al. 2007) indicated that Upucerthia, as traditionally constituted, was highly polyphyletic, its nine species apparently belonging to four distinct lineages. Four species of Upucerthia – albigula, jelskii, validirostris, and the name-bearing species dumetaria – formed a well-supported clade sister to Cinclodes (Chesser et al. 2007, Fjeldså et al. 2007). Of the five other species of Upucerthia, U. andaecola and U. ruficaudus formed a clade with Eremobius phoenicurus and Chilia melanura, all of which were subsequently transferred to the genus Ochetorhynchus (Chesser et al. 2007, Fjeldså et al. 2007). Upucerthia harterti and U. certhioides formed a distinct clade and were placed in the newly erected genus Tarphonomus (Chesser and Brumfield 2007). The position of the final species, U. serrana, was not well resolved, although it appeared to form part of a clade including the genera Cinclodes and Upucerthia sensu stricto (Chesser et al. 2007, Fjeldså et al. 2007).

Molecular and morphological data were used to derive a phylogenetic hypothesis for the Eurylaimides, an Old World bird group now known to be distributed pantropically, and to investigate the evolution and biogeography of the group. Phylogenetic results indicated that the Eurylaimides consist of two monophyletic groups, the pittas (Pittidae) and the broadbills (Eurylaimidae sensu lato), and that the broadbills consist of two highly divergent clades, one containing the sister genera Smithornis and Calyptomena, the other containing Pseudocalyptomena graueri, Sapayoa aenigma, the asity genera Philepitta and Neodrepanis, and five Asian genera. Our results indicate that over a ,10 million year time span in the early Tertiary, the Eurylaimides came to inhabit widely disjunct tropical regions and evolved disparate morphology, diet, and breeding behavior. Biogeographically, although a southern origin for the lineage is likely, time estimates for major lineage splitting do not correspond to Gondwanan vicariance events, and the biogeographic history of the crown clade is better explained by Laurasian climatic and geological processes. In particular, the timing and phylogenetic pattern suggest a likely Laurasian origin for the sole New World representative of the group, Sapayoa aenigma.

The traditional avian subfamily Furnariinae, a group of terrestrial ovenbirds typical of the Andean and Patagonian arid zones, consists of the genera Furnarius, Cinclodes, Geositta, Upucerthia, Chilia, and Eremobius. We investigated phylogenetic relationships within the Furnariinae, with particular attention to the nine species of the genus Upucerthia, using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from all genera in the subfamily. Upucerthia was found to be highly polyphyletic, its constituent species forming four non-sister clades: (1) a basal lineage consisting of two Upucerthia species, U. ruficaudus and U. andaecola, as well as the monotypic genera Eremobius and Chilia; (2) a lineage consisting of U. harterti and U. certhioides, two species behaviorally divergent from other Upucerthia species; (3) a lineage consisting of U. serrana, which is not closely related to any other Upucerthia species; and (4) a lineage, sister to Cinclodes, consisting of the four Upucerthia species U. dumetaria, U. albigula, U. validirostris, and U. jelskii. The larger Furnariinae was also found to be highly polyphyletic; the terrestrial open country ecotype characteristic of this subfamily occurs in four unrelated clades in the family Furnariidae, including a basal lineage as well as derived lineages. Although the large degree of divergence among Upucerthia clades was not previously recognized, owing to ecological, behavioral, and morphological similarities, the groupings correspond closely to relationships suggested by plumage. This is in contrast to studies of other avian genera in which plumage patterns have been shown to be extensively convergent. The generic names Upucerthia and Ochetorhynchus are available for two of the former Upucerthia clades; new generic names may be warranted for the other two.

Spoonbills (genus Platalea) are a small group of wading birds, generally considered to constitute the subfamily Plataleinae (Aves: Threskiornithidae). We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among the six species of spoonbills using variation in sequences of the mitochondrial genes ND2 and cytochrome b (total 1796 bp). Topologies of phylogenetic trees reconstructed using maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian analyses were virtually identical and supported monophyly of the spoonbills. Most relationships within Platalea received strong support: P. minor and P. regia were closely related sister species, P. leucorodia was sister to the minor-regia clade, and P. alba was sister to the minor-regia-leucorodia clade. Relationships of P. flavipes and P. ajaja were less well resolved: these species either formed a clade that was sister to the four-species clade, or were successive sisters to this clade. This phylogeny is consistent with ideas of relatedness derived from spoonbill morphology. Our limited sampling of the Threskiornithinae (ibises), the putative sister group to the spoonbills, indicated that this group is paraphyletic, in agreement with previous molecular data; this suggests that separation of the Threskiornithidae into subfamilies Plataleinae and Threskiornithinae may not be warranted.

Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Cinclodes, a group of South American furnariids, were studied using complete sequences of the mitochondrial genes COII and ND3. The 13 species of Cinclodes formed a monophyletic group consisting of three major lineages: (1) the southeastern Brazilian isolate C. pabsti, which was sister to the rest of the genus; (2) a clade of five primarily Patagonian or central Argentine highlands species; and (3) a clade of seven primarily north-central Andean or Pacific species. Biogeographic structure in the Patagonian-Andean taxa was consistent with the deep Patagonian and north-central Andean division previously noted in the similarly distributed genus Muscisaxicola. Evolutionary relationships among Cinclodes species were partially consistent with expectations based on plumage, behavior, and ecology. The phenotypically distinctive C. antarcticus was found to be sister to the widespread C. fuscus in the primarily Patagonian-Argentine clade, and the distinctive C. p...

Phylogenetic analysis of the family Furnariidae (Aves: Passeriformes) indicates that the genus Asthenes is polyphyletic, consisting of two groups that are not sister taxa. Pseudasthenes, a new genus of ovenbird, is described for one of these groups. The four species included in the new genus, formerly placed in Asthenes, are P. humicola, P. patagonica, P. steinbachi, and P. cactorum.