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Genomic signatures of convergent shifts to plunge-diving behavior in birds

Eliason, Chad M., Mellenthin, Lauren E., Hains, Taylor, McCullough, Jenna M., Pirro, Stacy, Andersen, Michael J., Hackett, Shannon J.·2023·Communications Biology
DOI 10.1038/s42003-023-05359-zPMC PMC10598022
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Abstract

Understanding the genetic basis of convergence at broad phylogenetic scales remains a key challenge in biology. Kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae) are a cosmopolitan avian radiation with diverse colors, diets, and feeding behaviors—including the archetypal plunge-dive into water. Given the sensory and locomotor challenges associated with air-water transitions, kingfishers offer a powerful opportunity to explore the effects of convergent behaviors on the evolution of genomes and phenotypes, as well as direct comparisons between continental and island lineages. Here, we use whole-genome sequencing of 30 diverse kingfisher species to identify the genomic signatures associated with convergent feeding behaviors. We show that species with smaller ranges (i.e., on islands) have experienced stronger demographic fluctuations than those on continents, and that these differences have influenced the dynamics of molecular evolution. Comparative genomic analyses reveal positive selection and genomic convergence in brain and dietary genes in plunge-divers. These findings enhance our understanding of the connections between genotype and phenotype in a diverse avian radiation.

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  • Several recent studies have applied multiple complementary PhyloG2P methods.

    “This diversity has been actively embraced with several recent studies applying multiple complementary PhyloG2P methods (Eliason et al. 2023; Zhang et al. 2023; Eastment et al. 2024; Matsuda and Makino 2024)”

    From From Trees to Traits: A Review of Advances in PhyloG2P Methods and Future Directions (2025) · cites this paper as Eliason et al. 2023

  • Presence/absence based PhyloG2P studies have successfully identified links between genetic elements and traits, especially in the context of trait loss.

    “While presence/absence based studies have successfully identified links between genetic elements and traits (Chikina et al. 2016; Eliason et al. 2023; Zhang et al. 2023), especially in the context of trait loss (Prudent et al. 2016; Partha et al. 2019; Sackton et al. 2019)”

    From From Trees to Traits: A Review of Advances in PhyloG2P Methods and Future Directions (2025) · cites this paper as Eliason et al. 2023

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Metadata

Authors
Eliason, C. M., Mellenthin, L. E., Hains, T., McCullough, J. M., Pirro, S., Andersen, M. J., & Hackett, S. J.
ORCID
Venue
Communications Biology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2023-10-24
Volume
6
Issue
1
ISSN
2399-3642
DOI
10.1038/s42003-023-05359-z
PMC
PMC10598022
Cited by
10
References
5
Language
en
Licence
Funders
National Science Foundation (EP 2112468, EP 2112467)

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