ArticleNature ecology & evolution2020
Macroevolutionary convergence connects morphological form to ecological function in birds.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 159 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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159 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
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- The island rule explains consistent patterns of body size evolution in terrestrial vertebrates.Nature ecology & evolution · 2021Pooled it
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- Measuring Bird Morphology From Field Photographs.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
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- Increasing bird diversity in a landscape in transition.Oecologia · 2026Article
- Age-related changes in the gut microbiota of a long-lived seabird suggest divergence from mammalian models.Royal Society open science · 2026Article
- Urban greening strategies for mitigating heat exposure and enhancing bird diversity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Distinct constraints but shared dynamics shape the macroevolution of volatile organic compound chemodiversity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Functional traits explain responses of Appalachian birds to vertical and horizontal forest structure.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Article
- Diet of bird-like troodontid dinosaurs: synthesis of a contentious clade.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Macroevolutionary trends of avian ichnodisparity in Gondwana.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Functional diversity patterns of urban and forest breeding birds across four city-forest pairs in China.BMC ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Beak height and nest structure shape avian bite force.Zoological research · 2026Article
- Frugivore richness poorly predicts seed dispersal effectiveness under climate change.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Evolutionary Rate Incongruences in Squamates Reveal Contrasting Patterns of Evolutionary Novelties and Innovation.Systematic biology · 2026Article
- Adaptation in the Avian Middle Ear-The Columellar Annular Ligament in Aquatic and Diving Birds.Journal of morphology · 2026Article
- Birds That Don't Exist: Niche Pre-Emption as a Constraint on Morphological Evolution in the Passeroidea.Ecology letters · 2026Article
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Abstract
Animals have diversified into a bewildering variety of morphological forms exploiting a complex configuration of trophic niches. Their morphological diversity is widely used as an index of ecosystem function, but the extent to which animal traits predict trophic niches and associated ecological processes is unclear. Here we use the measurements of nine key morphological traits for >99% bird species to show that avian trophic diversity is described by a trait space with four dimensions. The position of species within this space maps with 70-85% accuracy onto major niche axes, including trophic level, dietary resource type and finer-scale variation in foraging behaviour. Phylogenetic analyses reveal that these form-function associations reflect convergence towards predictable trait combinations, indicating that morphological variation is organized into a limited set of dimensions by evolutionary adaptation. Our results establish the minimum dimensionality required for avian functional traits to predict subtle variation in trophic niches and provide a global framework for exploring the origin, function and conservation of bird diversity.
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