Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4250 No. 5: 7 Apr. 2017
Type: Article
Published: 2017-04-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4250.5.1
Page range: 401–433
Abstract views: 166
PDF downloaded: 6

Speciation in Indo-Pacific swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae): integrating molecular and phenotypic data for a new provisional taxonomy of the Collocalia esculenta complex

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
Department of Genetics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2054, Australia
National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2054, Australia
A-3A-5, Casa Indah 1, Persiaran Surian, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
Australian National Wildlife Collection, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
Aves speciation DNA sequencing morphology Wallacea Indo-Pacific zoogeography

Abstract

White-bellied swiftlets of the Collocalia esculenta complex constitute a radiation of colony-breeding swifts distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Resolution of their taxonomy is challenging due to their morphological uniformity. To analyze the evolutionary history of this complex, we combine new biometric measurements and results from plumage assessment of museum specimens with novel as well as previously published molecular data. Together, this body of information constitutes the largest systematic dataset for white-bellied swiftlets yet compiled, drawn from 809 individuals belonging to 32 taxa for which new molecular, biometric, and/or plumage data are presented. We propose changing the classification of white-bellied swiftlets, for which two species are currently recognized, to elevate eight regional forms to species level, and we also describe two new subspecies. The ten taxa we recommend recognizing at the species level are: Collocalia linchi (Java to Lombok, Sumatran hills), C. dodgei (montane Borneo), C. natalis (Christmas Island), C. affinis (Greater Sundas, including the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Andaman–Nicobar Islands), C. marginata (Philippines), C. isonota (Philippines), C. sumbawae (west Lesser Sundas), C. neglecta (east Lesser Sundas), C. esculenta (Sulawesi, Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands), and C. uropygialis (Vanuatu, New Caledonia). Future molecular and morphological work is needed to resolve questions of speciation and population affinities in the Philippines, Christmas Island, Wallacea and central Melanesia, and to shed light on historic diversification and patterns of gene flow in the complex.

 

References

  1. Beavan, R.C. (1867) The avifauna of the Andaman islands. Ibis, 9, 314–334.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1867.tb06434.x

    Bensasson, D., Zhang, D., Hartl, D.L. & Hewitt, G.M. (2001) Mitochondrial pseudogenes: evolution's misplaced witnesses. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 16, 314–321.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02151-6

    Chantler, P. (1999) Family Apodidae (Swifts). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (Eds.), Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, pp. 338–457.

    Christidis, L. & Boles, W. (2008) Systematics and taxonomy of Australian birds. Csiro Publishing, Melbourne, 288 pp.

    Clayton, D.H. & Johnson, K.P. (2000) Testing species limits of non-echolocating Philippine swiftlets (Collocalia spp.) using molecular genetic data. Sylvatrop, 10, 70–77.

    Clements, J.F. (2007) The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th Edition. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, xix + 843 pp.

    Clements, J.F., Schulenberg, T.S., Iliff, M.J., Roberson, D, Fredericks, T.A., Sullivan, B.L. & Wood, C.L. (2014) The eBird /Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: Version 6.9. Available from: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ (accessed 14 March 2017)

    Collin, J.A. & Hartert, E.J.O. (1927) Collocalia esculenta erwini. Novitates Zoologicae, 34, 50.

    Darlington, P.J. Jr. (1957) Zoogeography: The Geographical Distribution of Animals. Wiley, New York, xiv + 675 pp.

    Delacour, J. & Mayr, E. (1945) Notes on the taxonomy of the birds of the Philippines. Zoologica, 30, 105–117.

    del Hoyo, J. & Collar, N.J. (2014) HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol.1. Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 903 pp.

    Dickinson, E.C. (1989) A review of smaller Philippine swiftlets of the genus Collocalia. Forktail, 5, 23–34.

    Dickinson, E.C. (Ed) (2003) The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd Edition. Christopher Helm, London, 1039 pp.

    Dickinson, E.C., Kennedy, R.S. & Parkes, K.C. (1991) The Birds of the Philippines. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, 369 pp.

    Dickinson, E.C. & Remsen, J.V. (Eds.) (2013) The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 4th Edition. Vol. 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, 461 pp.

    Drummond, A.J. & Rambaut, A. (2007) BEAST: Bayesian evolutionary analysis by sampling trees. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 7, 214.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-7-214

    Eaton, J.A., van Balen, B., Brickle, N.W. & Rheindt, F.E. (2016) Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 496 pp.

    Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1947) Field notes on the birds of Christmas Island. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum, 18, 87–165.

    Gill, F. & Donsker, D. (2016) IOC World Bird List. Version 6.1. Available from: http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/crossref/ (accessed 14 March 2017)

    Gray, G.R. (1866) A synopsis of the species of the genus Collocalia, with descriptions of new species. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 3, 17 (98), 118–128.

    Hachisuka, M. (1930) Contributions to the birds of the Philippines. Ornithological Society Japan Supplement, 14, 141–222.

    Hall, R. (2002) Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SW Pacific: computer-based reconstructions, model and animations. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 20, 353–431.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(01)00069-4

    Hall, R. (2009) Southeast Asia’s changing palaeogeography. Blumea, 54, 148–161.
    https://doi.org/10.3767/000651909X475941

    Hartert, E. (1924) The birds of New Hanover. Novitates Zoologicae, 31, 194–213.

    Horsfield, T. & Moore, F. (1854) A Catalogue of the Birds in the Museum of the East-India Company. Vol. I. WM. H. Allen and Co., London, 807pp.

    Inskipp, T., Lindsey, N. & Duckworth, W. (1996) An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the Oriental Region. Oriental Bird Club, Sandy, Bedfordshire, 294 pp.

    ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 4th Edition. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, The Natural History Museum, London, xxix + 306 pp.

    Lee, P.L.M., Clayton, D.H., Griffiths, R. & Page, R.D.M. (1996) Does behavior reflect phylogeny in swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae)? A test using cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 93, 7091–7096.
    https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.93.14.7091

    Linnaeus, C. (1758) Systema Naturae. Vol. 1. 10th Edition. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 824 pp.

    Lister, J.J. (1889) On the natural history of Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1888, 512–531.

    Mayr, E. (1931) Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition. XIII. A systematic list of the birds of Rennell Island with descriptions of new species and subspecies. American Museum Novitates, 486, 1–29.

    Mayr, E. (1941) List of New Guinea Birds. American Museum of Natural History, New York, xi + 260 pp.

    Mayr, E. (1944a) The birds of Timor and Sumba. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 83, 127–195.

    Mayr, E. (1944b) Wallace’s Line in the light of recent zoogeographic studies. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 19 (1), 1–14.
    https://doi.org/10.1086/394684

    Mayr, E. & Diamond, J. (2001) The Birds of Northern Melanesia: Speciation, Ecology, and Biogeography. Oxford University Press, Oxford, xxiv + 492 pp.

    Mees, G.F. (2006) The avifauna of Flores (Lesser Sunda Islands). Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden, 80, 1–261.

    Meise, W. (1941) Ueber die Vogelwelt von Noesa Penida bei Bali nach einer Sammlung von Baron Viktor von Plessen. Journal für Ornithologie, 89, 345–376.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01905704

    Meyer de Schauensee, R. & Ripley, S.D. (1940) Zoological results of the George Vanderbilt Sumatran expedition, 1936–1939. Part I—Birds from Atjeh. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 91, 311–398.

    Moyle, R.G., Hosner, P.A., Nais, J., Lakim, M. & Sheldon, F.H. (2008) Taxonomic status of the Kinabalu ‘linchi’ swiftlet. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 128, 94–100.

    Neumann, O. (1919) Über einige arten des genus Collocalia. Ornithologische Monatsberichte, 27, 108–110.

    Norman, J.A., Christidis, L., Westerman, M. & Hill, F.A.R. (1998) Molecular data confirms the species status of the Christmas Island Hawk-Owl Ninox natalis. Emu, 98, 197–208.
    https://doi.org/10.1071/MU98028

    Oberholser, H.C. (1906) A monograph of the genus Collocalia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 58, 177–212.

    Ogilvie-Grant, W.M. (1914) Collocalia nitens. Bulletin British Ornithological Club, 35, 35.

    Päckert, M., Martens, J., Wink, M., Feigl, A. & Tietze, D.T. (2012) Molecular phylogeny of Old World swifts (Aves: Apodiformes, Apodidae, Apus and Tachymarptis) based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 63, 606–616.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.02.002

    Parkes, K.C. (1960) Notes on some non-passerine birds from the Philippines. Annals of the Carnegie Museum, 35, 331–340.

    Peters, J.L. (1940) Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. IV. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, xii + 291 pp.

    Posada, D. (2008) jModelTest: phylogenetic model averaging. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 25, 1253–1256.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msn083

    Price, J.J., Johnson, K.P. & Clayton, D.H. (2004) The evolution of echolocation in swiftlets. Journal of Avian Biology, 35, 135–143.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03182.x

    Price, J.J., Johnson, K.P., Bush, S.E. & Clayton, D.H. (2005) Phylogenetic relationships of the Papuan Swiftlet Aerodramus papuensis and implications for the evolution of echolocation. Ibis, 147, 790–796.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2005.00467.x

    Rambaut, A. & Drummond, A.J. (2008) Tracer; MCMC Trace Analysis Tool.Version 1.4.1. Available from: http://beast.bio.ed.ac.uk/Tracer (accessed 14 March 2017)

    Rensch, B. (1931) Die Vogelwelt von Lombok, Sumbawa und Flores. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum, Berlin, 17, 451–637.

    Rheindt, F.E., Norman, J.A. & Christidis, L. (2014) Extensive diversification across islands in the echolocating Aerodramus swiftlets. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 62, 89–99.

    Richmond, C.W. (1905) Description of a new swiftlet from Mount Kina Balu, Borneo. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 47, 431–432.

    Ripley, S.D. & Rabor, D.S. (1958) Notes on a collection of birds from Mindoro Island, Philippines. Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale University Bulletin, 13, 1–13.

    Rothschild, W. & Hartert, E.J.O. (1914) Collocalia esculenta stresemanni. Novitates Zoologicae, 21, 239.
    https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.16328

    Salomonsen, F. (1983) Revision of the Melanesian swiftlets (Apodes, Aves) and their conspecific forms in the Indo-Australian and Polynesian region. Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab Biologiske Skrifter, 23 (5), 1–112.

    Salvadori, T. (1882) Ornitologia della Papuasia e delle Molucche. Stamperia reale G.B. Paravia e co. di I. Vigliardi, Torino, 595 pp.

    Sibley, C.G. & Monroe, B.L. (1990) Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1111 pp.

    Somadikarta, S. (1982) The White-bellied Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta from Java. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, 102, 18–20.

    Somadikarta, S. (1986) Collocalia linchi Horsfield and Moore—a revision. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 106, 32–40.

    Sorenson, M.D. & Quinn, T.W. (1998) Numts: a challenge for avian systematics and population biology. Auk, 115, 214–221.
    https://doi.org/10.2307/4089130

    Stokes, T. (1988) A review of the birds of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service Occasional Paper, 16, i–viii + 1–39.

    Stresemann, E. (1912) Ornithologische Miszellen aus dem indo-australischen Gebiet. XVII. Die Formen von Collocalia linchi Horsf. & Moore. Novitates Zoologicae, 19, 347–349.
    https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.1551

    Stresemann, E. (1921) Collocalia esculenta tametamele. Anzeiger der Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern, 1 (5), 37.

    Stresemann, E. (1925) Beiträge zur Ornithologie der indo-australischen Region, II. Bruchstücke einer Revision der Salanganen (Collocalia). Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum, Berlin, 12, 349–354.

    Stresemann, E. (1940) Die Vögel von Celebes. Teil III. Systematik und Biologie. Journal für Ornithologie, 88, 389–487.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01670259

    Tamura, K., Peterson, D., Peterson, N., Stecher, G., Nei, M. & Kumar, S. (2011) MEGA5: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 28, 2731–2739.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msr121

    Thomassen, H.A., Wiersema, A.T., de Bakker, M.A.G., de Knijff, P., Hetebrij, E. & Povel, G.D.E. (2003) A new phylogeny of swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae) based on cytochrome-b DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 29, 86–93.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00066-6

    Thomassen, H.A., den Tex, R.-J., de Bakker, M.A.G. & Povel, G.D.E. (2005) Phylogenetic relationships amongst swifts and swiftlets: A multi locus approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37, 264–277.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.010

    The Times (2011) Comprehensive Atlas of the World. 13th Edition. HarperCollins, London, 544 pp.

    van Oosterzee, P. (1997) Where Worlds Collide: The Wallace Line. Reed Books, Sydney, 234 pp.

    van Oosterzee, P. (2006) Drawing the Wallace Line. In: Merrick, J.R., Archer, M., Hickey, G.M. & Lee, M.S.Y. (Eds.), Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. Auscipub, Oatlands, New South Wales, pp. 95–110.

    Wallace, A.R. (1860) On the zoological geography of the Malay Archipelago. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, London, Zoology, 4, 172–174.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1860.tb00090.x

    Wallace, A.R. (1864) On the identification of the Hirundo esculenta of Linnaeus, with a synopsis of the described species of Collocalia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1863, 382–385.

    Weir, J.T. & Schluter, D. (2008) Calibrating the avian molecular clock. Molecular Ecology, 17, 2321–2328.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03742.x

    Wells, D.R. (1999) The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Academic Press, London, 648 pp.

    White, C.T & Bruce, M.D. (1986) The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, The Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. B.O.U. Check-list No. 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, 524 pp.