title: Rapid diversification and secondary sympatry in Australo-Pacific kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae: Todiramphus).
abstract: Todiramphus chloris is the most widely distributed of the Pacific's 'great speciators'. Its 50 subspecies constitute a species complex that is distributed over 16 000 km from the Red Sea to Polynesia. We present, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of this enigmatic radiation of kingfishers. Ten Pacific Todiramphus species are embedded within the T. chloris complex, rendering it paraphyletic. Among these is a radiation of five species from the remote islands of Eastern Polynesian, as well as the widespread migratory taxon, Todiramphus sanctus. Our results offer strong support that Pacific Todiramphus, including T. chloris, underwent an extensive range expansion and diversification less than 1 Ma. Multiple instances of secondary sympatry have accumulated in this group, despite its recent origin, including on Australia and oceanic islands in Palau, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Significant ecomorphological and behavioural differences exist between secondarily sympatric lineages, which suggest that pre-mating isolating mechanisms were achieved rapidly during diversification. We found evidence for complex biogeographic patterns, including a novel phylogeographic break in the eastern Solomon Islands that separates a Northern Melanesian clade from Polynesian taxa. In light of our results, we discuss systematic relationships of Todiramphus and propose an updated taxonomy. This paper contributes to our understanding of avian diversification and assembly on islands, and to the systematics of a classically polytypic species complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute , University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute , University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Hannah T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Shult
authors.affiliation: Natural History Museum of Geneva, Department of Mammalogy and Ornithology , CP 6434, CH-1211 Geneva 6, 6434, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cibois
authors.affiliation: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Systématique et Evolution , UMR7205, Case Postale 51, 55 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Thibault
authors.affiliation: American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation , Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Filardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute , University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Moyle
keywords: Todiramphus chloris; divergence time estimation; diversification rates; great speciators; island biogeography