Parallel evolution in an island archipelago revealed by genomic sequencing of Hipposideros leaf-nosed bats.

Body size is a key morphological attribute, often used to delimit species boundaries among closely related taxa. But body size can evolve in parallel, reaching similar final states despite independent evolutionary and geographic origins, leading to faulty assumptions of evolutionary history. Here, we document parallel evolution in body size in the widely distributed leaf-nosed bat genus Hipposideros, which has misled both taxonomic and evolutionary inference.

Parachute geckos free fall into synonymy: Gekko phylogeny, and a new subgeneric classification, inferred from thousands of ultraconserved elements.

Recent phylogenetic studies of gekkonid lizards have revealed unexpected, widespread paraphyly and polyphyly among genera, unclear generic boundaries, and a tendency towards the nesting of taxa exhibiting specialized, apomorphic morphologies within geographically widespread "generalist" clades. This is especially true in Australasia, where monophyly of Gekko proper has been questioned with respect to phenotypically ornate flap-legged geckos of the genus Luperosaurus, the Philippine false geckos of the genus Pseudogekko, and even the elaborately "derived" parachute geckos of the genus Ptychozoon. Here we employ sequence capture targeting 5060 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to infer phylogenomic relationships among 42 representative ingroup gekkonine lizard taxa.

Predictable invasion dynamics in North American populations of the Eurasian collared dove .

Species invasions represent a significant dimension of global change yet the dynamics of invasions remain poorly understood and are considered rather unpredictable. We explored interannual dynamics of the invasion process in the Eurasian collared dove () and tested whether the advance of the invasion front of the species in North America relates to centrality (versus peripherality) within its estimated fundamental ecological niche. We used ecological niche modelling approaches to estimate the dimensions of the fundamental ecological niche on the Old World distribution of the species, and then transferred that model to the New World as measures of centrality versus peripherality within the niche for the species.

Genomic data reveals potential for hybridization, introgression, and incomplete lineage sorting to confound phylogenetic relationships in an adaptive radiation of narrow-mouth frogs.

The microhylid frog genus Kaloula is an adaptive radiation spanning the edge of the Asian mainland and multiple adjacent island archipelagos, with much of the clade's diversity associated with an endemic Philippine radiation. Relationships among clades from the Philippines, however, remain unresolved. With ultraconserved element (UCE) and mitogenomic data, we identified highly supported differences in topology and areas of poor resolution, for each marker set.

Conservation genetics of the Philippine tarsier: cryptic genetic variation restructures conservation priorities for an island archipelago primate.

Establishment of conservation priorities for primates is a particular concern in the island archipelagos of Southeast Asia, where rates of habitat destruction are among the highest in the world. Conservation programs require knowledge of taxonomic diversity to ensure success. The Philippine tarsier is a flagship species that promotes environmental awareness and a thriving ecotourism economy in the Philippines.