The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

A morphospace-based test for competitive exclusion among flying vertebrates: did birds, bats and pterosaurs get in each other's space?

A morphospace-based test for competitive exclusion among flying vertebrates: did birds, bats and pterosaurs get in each other's space?
A morphospace-based test for competitive exclusion among flying vertebrates: did birds, bats and pterosaurs get in each other's space?
Three vertebrate groups – birds, bats and pterosaurs – have evolved flapping flight over the past 200 million years. This innovation allowed each clade access to new ecological opportunities, but did the diversification of one of these groups inhibit the evolutionary radiation of any of the others? A related question is whether having the wing attached to the hindlimbs in bats and pterosaurs constrained their morphological diversity relative to birds. Fore- and hindlimb measurements from 894 specimens were used to construct a morphospace to assess morphological overlap and range, a possible indicator of competition, among the three clades. Neither birds nor bats entered pterosaur morphospace across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (Tertiary) extinction. Bats plot in a separate area from birds, and have a significantly smaller morphological range than either birds or pterosaurs. On the basis of these results, competitive exclusion among the three groups is not supported
competitive exclusion, cretaceous–paleogene, flight, legs, morphospace, wings
1010-061X
1230-1236
McGowan, A.J.
6127baa1-f03d-4b26-965f-cf47138034a1
Dyke, G.J.
600ca61e-b40b-4c86-b8ae-13be4e331e94
McGowan, A.J.
6127baa1-f03d-4b26-965f-cf47138034a1
Dyke, G.J.
600ca61e-b40b-4c86-b8ae-13be4e331e94

McGowan, A.J. and Dyke, G.J. (2007) A morphospace-based test for competitive exclusion among flying vertebrates: did birds, bats and pterosaurs get in each other's space? Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 20 (3), 1230-1236. (doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01285.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Three vertebrate groups – birds, bats and pterosaurs – have evolved flapping flight over the past 200 million years. This innovation allowed each clade access to new ecological opportunities, but did the diversification of one of these groups inhibit the evolutionary radiation of any of the others? A related question is whether having the wing attached to the hindlimbs in bats and pterosaurs constrained their morphological diversity relative to birds. Fore- and hindlimb measurements from 894 specimens were used to construct a morphospace to assess morphological overlap and range, a possible indicator of competition, among the three clades. Neither birds nor bats entered pterosaur morphospace across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (Tertiary) extinction. Bats plot in a separate area from birds, and have a significantly smaller morphological range than either birds or pterosaurs. On the basis of these results, competitive exclusion among the three groups is not supported

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 8 January 2007
Published date: May 2007
Keywords: competitive exclusion, cretaceous–paleogene, flight, legs, morphospace, wings
Organisations: Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 205207
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/205207
ISSN: 1010-061X
PURE UUID: 6d00e109-bcc7-4b6b-9e18-a6788a5f1985

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Dec 2011 15:05
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:33

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: A.J. McGowan
Author: G.J. Dyke

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×