ArticleEvolution letters2022
Allometric conservatism in the evolution of bird beaks.
Article in Evolution letters, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Animal acoustic communication has a conserved optimal rhythm within the neural delta range.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Macroevolution of Steep Interspecific Metabolic Allometry in an Old Insect Order.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Effects of frugivore species pool and seed size on the diversity and functional composition of frugivores visiting fruiting trees.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- A combination of stabilizing selection and random walk are associated with phylogenetic signal in hard pines.Annals of botany · 2025Article
- Convergent evolution of noncoding elements associated with short tarsus length in birds.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Shell Constraints on Evolutionary Body Size-Limb Size Allometry Can Explain Morphological Conservatism in the Turtle Body Plan.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Complementarity in Allen's and Bergmann's rules among birds.Nature communications · 2023Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
Evolution can involve periods of rapid divergent adaptation and expansion in the range of diversity, but evolution can also be relatively conservative over certain timescales due to functional, genetic-developmental, and ecological constraints. One way in which evolution may be conservative is in terms of allometry, the scaling relationship between the traits of organisms and body size. Here, we investigate patterns of allometric conservatism in the evolution of bird beaks with beak size and body size data for a representative sample of over 5000 extant bird species within a phylogenetic framework. We identify clades in which the allometric relationship between beak size and body size has remained relatively conserved across species over millions to tens of millions of years. We find that allometric conservatism is nonetheless punctuated by occasional shifts in the slopes and intercepts of allometric relationships. A steady accumulation of such shifts through time has given rise to the tremendous diversity of beak size relative to body size across birds today. Our findings are consistent with the Simpsonian vision of macroevolution, with evolutionary conservatism being the rule but with occasional shifts to new adaptive zones.
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