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MACROECOLOGY

Avian form and function

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 179–180 (2020)Cite this article

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Analysis of niche related morphological traits in nearly 10,000 species of birds shows concordance between phenotypic traits and trophic function. Avian trophic niche space can be described by only two to four dimensions, with the occurrence of similar adaptive morphologies primarily driven by convergent evolution.

The link between form and function is a fundamental principal in biology1. From stomatal pores, to the mammalian circulatory system, to the molecular structure of DNA. But how general are the links between form and function on macroecological scales? How closely do sets of traits match ecological function across different niches and entire lineages? And, what is the relative importance of shared ancestry and convergent evolution on the assembly of this functional diversity? Writing in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Pigot et al.2 present a dataset of avian morphological traits that allows perhaps our best assessment of these questions so far.

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Fig. 1: Decoupling of phylogenetic and functional diversity.

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  1. Department of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Matthew J. Larcombe

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  1. Matthew J. Larcombe
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Correspondence to Matthew J. Larcombe.

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Larcombe, M.J. Avian form and function. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 179–180 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1078-9

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