Multi-locus phylogenetic inference among New World Vultures (Aves: Cathartidae)

Jeff A Johnson; Joseph W Brown; Jérôme Fuchs; David P Mindell

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.08.025

Multi-locus phylogenetic inference among New World Vultures (Aves: Cathartidae)

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2016 Dec:105:193-199. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.08.025. Epub 2016 Sep 4.

Authors

Jeff A Johnson¹, Joseph W Brown², Jérôme Fuchs³, David P Mindell⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences and Institute of Applied Science, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, Denton, TX 76203, USA. Electronic address: jajohnson@unt.edu.
² Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 North University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
³ UMR7205 Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité CNRS MNHN UPMC EPHE, Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CP 51, 57 rue Cuvier, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
⁴ Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

PMID: 27601346
DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.08.025

Abstract

New World Vultures are large-bodied carrion feeding birds in the family Cathartidae, currently consisting of seven species from five genera with geographic distributions in North and South America. No study to date has included all cathartid species in a single phylogenetic analysis. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships among all cathartid species using five nuclear (nuc; 4060bp) and two mitochondrial (mt; 2165bp) DNA loci with fossil calibrated gene tree (27 outgroup taxa) and coalescent-based species tree (2 outgroup taxa) analyses. We also included an additional four nuclear loci (2578bp) for the species tree analysis to explore changes in nodal support values. Although the stem lineage is inferred to have originated ∼69 million years ago (Ma; 74.5-64.9 credible interval), a more recent basal split within Cathartidae was recovered at ∼14Ma (17.1-11.1 credible interval). Two primary clades were identified: (1) Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) together with the three Cathartes species (Lesser C. burrovianus and Greater C. melambrotus Yellow-headed Vultures, and Turkey Vulture C. aura), and (2) King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), California (Gymnogyps californianus) and Andean (Vultur gryphus) Condors. Support for taxon relationships within the two basal clades were inconsistent between analyses with the exception of Black Vulture sister to a monophyletic Cathartes clade. Increased support for a yellow-headed vulture clade was recovered in the species tree analysis using the four additional nuclear loci. Overall, these results are in agreement with cathartid life history (e.g. olfaction ability and behavior) and contrasting habitat affinities among sister taxa with overlapping geographic distributions. More research is needed using additional molecular loci to further resolve the phylogenetic relationships within the two basal cathartid clades, as speciation appeared to have occurred in a relatively short period of time.

Keywords: Cathartidae; Condor; Miocene; Scavenger; Species tree; Vulture.

MeSH terms

Animals
Birds / classification*
Birds / genetics
California
DNA
DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics
Phylogeny
Sequence Analysis, DNA
South America

Substances

DNA, Mitochondrial
DNA