The ecology of hybridization in New Guinea honeyeaters (Aves). American Museum novitates ; no. 1937

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorGilliard, E. Thomas (Ernest Thomas), 1912-1965.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2005-10-06T18:17:13Z
dc.date.available2005-10-06T18:17:13Z
dc.date.issued1959en_US
dc.description26 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (p. 25-26).en_US
dc.description.abstract"Observations shedding new light on the hybridization of wattle birds and black-billed honeyeaters (Mayr and Gilliard, 1952b) are presented. Evidence is presented that the two groups are not conspecific, despite their interfertility under certain widespread conditions of habitat disturbance. New collections from the Victor Emmanuel, Hindenburg, and Mittag mountains, as well as nestlings from three widely separated regions of eastern, central, and western New Guinea, are analyzed. It is demonstrated that wattle birds are essentially forest-edge birds of the northern watershed and that the black bills are essentially pure forest birds of the central range and southern watershed. The hypothesis is advanced that, as a result of the removal of the mountain forests by man, these two morphologically very different groups were brought into hybrid contact and that zones of hybridization formed along the artificial forest edges in the midst of what had formerly been pure mountain forest. In such 'belt'-shaped areas of disturbance, in which the mechanisms of ecological isolation between the two groups of honeyeaters had been destroyed, wattle-bird genes flowed into new regions with black-bill genes to form hybrid swarms that sometimes became secondarily isolated. Two such swarms are postulated to have become stabilized and to have become taxonomically distinct from the parent species. The question of taxonomic recognition for 'races' of hybrid ancestry between valid species is studied, and the conclusion is reached that morphological criteria and not lines of descent should dictate whether such races are valid or not. The problem of the assignment of such a race to a species group is studied. It is decided to assign it to the parent it more nearly resembles. These conclusions are expressed in a revision of these two groups of hybridizing honeyeaters in which the wattle birds and the black bills are recognized as constituting two distinct species. Two races of hybrid ancestry (but nearest in composition to black bills) are recognized"--P. 24-25.en_US
dc.format.extent3234780 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2246/5368
dc.languageengen_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherNew York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural Historyen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesAmerican Museum novitates ; no. 1937en_US
dc.subject.lccQL1 .A436 no.1937, 1959en_US
dc.subject.lcshMelidectesen_US
dc.subject.lcshHoneyeaters -- Speciation.en_US
dc.subject.lcshHybridization.en_US
dc.subject.lcshHoneyeaters -- New Guineaen_US
dc.subject.lcshBirds -- New Guineaen_US
dc.subject.lcshBirds -- Ecology -- New Guinea.en_US
dc.titleThe ecology of hybridization in New Guinea honeyeaters (Aves). American Museum novitates ; no. 1937en_US
dc.typetexten_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
/v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/nov/N1937.pdf
Size:
3.08 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download

Collections

American Museum Novitates