DOI: 10.5061/dryad.7sqv9s4qn
title: Data from: Peripheral morphology is associated with restricted lineage diversification and endemism across a large passerine radiation

description: Aim: Across a variety of taxonomic scales species diversity is unevenly
 distributed among its constituent units, and clades with few species are
 more common than expected assuming homogeneous rates of speciation and
 extinction among lineages. In order to explain the prevalence of species
 poor families among a global and speciose radiation of passerine birds, we
 test whether these groups share common eco-morphological, geographic and
 phylogenetic attributes. Location: Global Time period: Late Oligocene to
 the present day Major taxa studied: The Corvides (ca. 790 species)
 Methods: We obtained 10 linear measurements of external morphology for 782
 species of corvoid passerines. Using these measurements as a proxy for
 species ecology, we assessed the positioning of corvoid families in
 eco-morphological trait space, and how these factors are associated with
 their species richness and rates of lineage diversification. Subsequently,
 we compared these same characteristics (species richness, morphological
 positioning and rates of lineage diversification), between families that
 are currently endemic to the Australasian ancestral area of the Corvides,
 with those that have dispersed and diversified throughout other
 continental and insular landmasses. Results: Families with low species
 richness and rates of diversification tend to occupy the most peripheral
 positions in eco-morphological trait space, with almost all of these
 groups being endemic to Australasia. The peripheral eco-morphological
 positioning of the Australasian groupings is generally greater than
 expected upon accounting for differences in phylogenetic isolation and
 heterogeneity in rates of trait evolution, implying that species poor
 corvoid families commonly evolved towards marginal areas of morphospace.
 Main conclusions: The overrepresentation of species poor clades across
 diverse sets of organismal groups is consistent with their evolution
 towards, and the maintenance in, marginal areas of ecological niche space.
 The evolution of peripheral eco-morphological characters represents a
 potentially significant limit to rates of range expansion and lineage
 diversification.
description: <b>Morphological measurements of museum study skins of the Corvides </b> In order to assess morphological variation among the Corvides we measured 10 linear variables representing different aspects of avian functional morphology. These morphological measurements were chosen as the respective traits have been illustrated to reflect dispersal ability, foraging strategy, habitat use and climbing adaptations in passerines (Miles and Ricklefs 1984; Miles et al. 1987; Tobias et al. 2014; Pigot et al. 2016). All measurements were taken by Petter Zahl Marki between July and October 2014. For all species, we attempted to measure six adult male specimens following the IOC world bird species list v.2.7 (Gill and Donsker, 2010). In order to reduce the potential influence of intra-specific variation, for each species, we focused on measuring specimens belonging to the same subspecies, or that otherwise had been collected from a restricted geographical area. However, for species poorly represented in the visited collections, we supplemented the measurements with those from females, unsexed specimens, and/or specimens belonging to different subspecies/geographical locations. We used the mean values of these measurements per species in all analyses presented in the main article, because using ANOVA we found that 99% of the variation in the traits was between rather than within species. Specimens from the following institutions were measured: <b>Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark (ZMUC) </b>courtesy of Jon Fjeldså and Jan Bolding Kristensen <b>American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA (AMNH) </b>courtesy of Joel Cracraft and Paul Sweet. <b>Natural History Museum, Tring, UK (NHM)</b> courtesy of Robert Prys-Jones and Hein van Grouw <b>Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany</b><b> (MFN)</b> courtesy of Sylke Frahnert and Pascal Eckhoff Below we provide a description of the individual linear measurements taken. Unless otherwise stated measurements were taken to the nearest 0.1 mm using a caliper. <b>Wing measurements:</b> We took two wing measurements, flattening, but not stretching the wing (“Svensson’s method 2”; Svensson 1992). (1) We measured the length from the carpal joint to the longest primary feather, reflecting wing length, and (2) the length from the carpal joint to the first secondary feather, reflecting a measure of wing aspect (see Claramunt et al. 2011, Fig.2 for a diagram of this approach). Both measurements were taken to the nearest 1 mm using a wing ruler. <b>Tail measurements:</b> Tail maximum and minimum length were taken from the base of pygostyle to the tip of the outer and central retrices respectively. These measurements were taken by inserting the ruler (or pointed tip of the caliper) between the central retrices until this stops upon contacting the pygostyle. Both measurements were taken to the nearest 1 mm using a ruler/caliper. <b>Bill measurements:</b> Bill length was measured from the tip of the bill to the base of the skull (total culmen, Baldwin et al. p. 13). Bill depth and width were measured at the level of the proximal edge of the nostrils. <b>Tarsometatarsus (tarsus) length</b>: We measured tarsometatarsus length from the tibiotarsus joint to the base of the toes, which is represented by the last undivided scute. <b>Hind toe</b>: As a measure of the hind toe, we measured the hallux on dorsal side, both with and without the claw. <b>References</b> Baldwin SP, Oberholser HC, Worley LG. 1931 Measurements of birds. Sci. Pub. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist. Cleveland, OH. Claramunt S, Derryberry EP, Remsen JV, Brumfield R. 2011 High dispersal ability inhibits speciation in a continental radiation of passerine birds. <i>Proc. Royal Soc. B.</i>, <b>279</b>, 1567-1574. Claramunt S, Derryberry EP, Brumfield RT, Remsen Jr JV. 2012 Ecological opportunity and diversification in a continental radiation of birds: climbind adaptations and cladogenesis in the Furnariidae. <i>Am. Nat.</i>, <b>179</b>, 649-666. Gill F, Donsker D. 2010 IOC world bird names (v 2.7.). http://www. worldbirdnames.org. Miles DB, Ricklefs RE. 1984 The correlation between ecology and morphology in deciduous forest passerine birds. <i>Ecology</i>, <b>65</b>, 1629-1640. Pigot AL, Trisos CH, Tobias JA. 2016 Functional traits reveal the expansion and packing of ecological niche space underlying an elevational diversity gradient in passerine birds. <i>Proc. R. Soc. B.</i>, <b>283</b>, 20152013. Svensson L. 1992. Identification Guide to European Passerines. Published privately. Stockholm, Sweden. Tobias JA, Cornwallis CK, Derryberry EP, Claramunt S, Brumfield RT, Seddon N. 2014 Species coexistence and the dynamics of phenotypic evolution in adaptive radiation. <i>Nature</i>, <b>506</b>, 359-363.