The DOI matches its Crossref record; 49 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors
Open accessAbstract
Significance: We show that beak and skull shapes in birds of prey (“raptors”) are strongly coupled and largely controlled by size. This relationship means that, rather than being able to respond independently to natural selection, beak shapes are highly constrained to evolve in a particular way. The main aspects of shape variation seem to correspond with specific genes active during development. Because raptors are not each other’s closest relatives, similar shape constraints may therefore have been present in the ancestors of all modern songbirds, including Darwin’s finches, the classic example of explosive evolution in birds. If this hypothesis is true, then such classic examples may be unusual, needing first to break a genetic lock before their beaks could evolve new shapes.
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“This contrasts with previous analyses that have found the avian cranium to be highly integrated. However, these previous analyses have been restricted to analyzing smaller clades (10, 12) or have excluded large portions of the skull (9).”
From Developmental origins of mosaic evolution in the avian cranium (2018) · cites this paper as [12]
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“Regardless of whether raptors occur at the base of two major radiations of monophyletic landbirds (25) or whether Accipitridae are found at the base of all landbirds, with Falconidae sister to the parrots and Passeriformes (26), it raises the question of whether integration and allometric control on form is basal to l…”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bright, J. A., Marugán-Lobón, J., Cobb, S. N., & Rayfield, E. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Unidad de Paleontología, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain;
- University of York (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Bright, Jen A.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2016-04-28
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 19
- Pages
- 5352-5357
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC4868483
- OpenAlex
- W2345261486
- Cited by
- 258
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 37.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/I011668/1, BB/I011714/1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Keywords
- raptors, body size, morphological integration, developmental constraints, regulatory genes, dietary adaptation, feeding ecology, morphological evolution, landbirds
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Beak, Diet, Biological Evolution, Feeding Behavior, Morphogenesis, Organ Size, Species Specificity, Raptors, Body Size
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