A phylogenetic test of sympatric speciation in the Hydrobatinae (Aves: Procellariiformes).

Phylogenetic relationships among species can provide insight into how new species arise. For example, careful consideration of both the phylogenetic and geographic distributions of species in a group can reveal the geographic models of speciation within the group. One such model, sympatric speciation, may be more common than previously thought.

Lack of Spatial Immunogenetic Structure among Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Populations Suggestive of Broad Scale Balancing Selection.

Elucidating the adaptive genetic potential of wildlife populations to environmental selective pressures is fundamental for species conservation. Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are highly polymorphic, and play a key role in the adaptive immune response against pathogens. MHC polymorphism has been linked to balancing selection or heterogeneous selection promoting local adaptation.

The Arctic: Glacial Refugium or Area of Secondary Contact? Inference from the Population Genetic Structure of the Thick-Billed Murre (Uria lomvia), with Implications for Management.

Quaternary glaciations affected the distribution of many species. Here, we investigate whether the Arctic represented a glacial refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum or an area of secondary contact following the ice retreat, by analyzing the genetic population structure of the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), a seabird that breeds throughout the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The thick-billed murre is a species of socio-economic importance and faces numerous threats including hunting, oil pollution, gill netting, and climate change.

Trans-oceanic host dispersal explains high seabird tick diversity on Cape Verde islands.

Parasites represent ideal models for unravelling biogeographic patterns and mechanisms of diversification on islands. Both host-mediated dispersal and within-island adaptation can shape parasite island assemblages. In this study, we examined patterns of genetic diversity and structure of Ornithodoros seabird ticks within the Cape Verde Archipelago in relation to their global phylogeography.

Mechanisms of global diversification in the brown booby (Sula leucogaster) revealed by uniting statistical phylogeographic and multilocus phylogenetic methods.

Recent theoretical and empirical research suggests that statistical models based on coalescent theory can improve both phylogeographic and phylogenetic inference. An approach that involves elements of both statistical phylogeography (e.g.