Phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC) is the tendency of lineages to retain their niche‐
related traits through speciation events. A recent surge in the availability of well‐sampled …

Often, biogeography is applied only as a narrative addition to phylogenetic studies and lacks
scientific rigour. However, if research questions are framed as hypotheses, biogeographical …

Although reconstruction of the phylogeny of living birds has progressed tremendously in the
last decade, the evolutionary history of Neoaves—a clade that encompasses nearly all living …

A core question in evolutionary biology is whether convergent phenotypic evolution is driven
by convergent molecular changes in proteins or regulatory regions. We combined …

Quantifying integration and modularity of evolutionary changes in morphometric traits is
crucial for understanding how organismal shapes evolve. For this purpose, comparative …

It is thought that speciation in phytophagous insects is often due to colonization of novel host
plants, because radiations of plant and insect lineages are typically asynchronous. Recent …

The evolution of the ratite birds has been widely attributed to vicariant speciation, driven by
the Cretaceous breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana. The early isolation of Africa and …

Our understanding of the earliest stages of crown bird evolution is hindered by an
exceedingly sparse avian fossil record from the Mesozoic era. The most ancient …

Birds are renowned for their exceptional vision and the way that this enables them to survive
and navigate the world in such a unique way. However, it is now recognised that avian …

Feathers are arranged in a precise pattern in avian skin. They first arise during development
in a row along the dorsal midline, with rows of new feather buds added sequentially in a …