ROWLEY REVIEW. Phylogeography: its development and impact in Australo-Papuan ornithology with special reference to paraphyly in Australian birds

Leo Joseph; Kevin E. Omland

doi:10.1071/MU08024

ROWLEY REVIEW

Next Contents Vol 109(1)

ROWLEY REVIEW. Phylogeography: its development and impact in Australo-Papuan ornithology with special reference to paraphyly in Australian birds

Leo Joseph ^A ^C and Kevin E. Omland ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

^B Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA.

^C Corresponding author. Email: leo.joseph@csiro.au

Emu 109(1) 1-23 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU08024
Submitted: 12 May 2008 Accepted: 18 September 2008 Published: 20 January 2009

Abstract

With examples from Australo-Papuan ornithology, we examine the technical and theoretical roots of molecular phylogeography and review its development. We describe the progression from ad hoc interpretation of gene trees in single species phylogeographic studies through to comparative phylogeography and currently advocated model-testing approaches. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences have provided most advances to date, although we demonstrate and advocate the future use of multilocus datasets analysed with coalescent methods. We examine interrelationships among speciation research, historical biogeography, phylogeography and landscape genetics. Mitochondrial paraphyly, in which individuals of one species or population have mtDNA that is more closely related to that of another than to their own, emerges in 44% of Australian studies to date as a common, important result in Australian avian phylogeography. Accordingly, we explore at length its most common causes and its impact on case studies in Australo-Papuan avian phylogeography. The impact of so much paraphyly on avian phylogeography and taxonomy is a major theme of the review. We suggest a full research agenda for avian phylogeography in the Australo-Papuan region that spans diverse topics: the need for more studies of pelagic birds, spatio-temporal links between New Guinea and Australia, island populations, testing of long-established biogeographical hypotheses, and integration of molecular and non-molecular datasets into integrated evolutionary understanding of species and populations. Studying the full continuum of divergences from landscape genetics, to phylogeography, to recently diverged species with evidence of paraphyly, to highly divergent species with many fixed differences will lead to a more complete understanding of the processes and patterns of avian evolution.

Acknowledgements

We especially thank Scott Edwards for his detailed comments on two drafts. We also thank Gaynor Dolman, Michael Double, and anonymous reviewers for critically commenting on a draft, and David Winkler for discussion. We thank our colleagues and collaborators for their help in many projects,especially J. Peters and T. Wilke. Kevin E. Omland (KEO) is funded by an US National Science Foundation, Systematics Program CAREER Grant (DEB – 0347083). KEO’s contribution was made while on sabbatical leave at the Australian National University, Canberra, supported by a Visiting Fellowship from the School of Botany and Zoology (BoZo). KEO thanks William Foley, Andrew Cockburn, Mike Crisp, and other members of the Crisp Laboratory and BoZo for interesting discussions. Responsibility for views expressed, of course, lies with L. Joseph and K. E. Omland.

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