Search results for "Ring species"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
Evolution and genetic structure of the great tit (Parus major) complex
2003
The great tit complex is divided into four groups, each containing several subspecies. Even though the groups are known to differ markedly on morphological, vocal and behavioural characters, some hybridization occurs in the regions where they meet. The great tit has often been referred to as an example of a ring species, although this has later been questioned. Here, we have studied the genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships of the subspecies groups to clarify the evolutionary history of the complex using control region sequences of the mitochondrial DNA. The subspecies groups were found to be monophyletic and clearly distinct in mitochondrial haplotypes, and therefore must have h…
Ring species – Do they exist in birds?
2007
Abstract According to current theory, the splitting of a single species into two is best observed by a ring of intergrading populations which occupy a ring-shaped distribution area and whose terminal populations not only meet but overlap and co-occur without or with only little hybridization. The three most discussed examples in birds are revisited here. The great tit complex ( Parus major s. l.) turned out to be an assemblage of four subspecies groups forming a secondary ring of population. The herring gull/lesser black-backed gull complex ( Larus argentatus s. l.) forms a circumpolar circle of intergrading populations, but lacks the crucial cornerstone, the geographical overlap. The green…