The role of social and ecological processes on phenotypic evolution in birds

Thesis

The broad concept of “biodiversity” can be roughly separated into two related components: trait diversity and species richness. Despite the fact that one or both of these types of biodiversity underlie much of ecology, evolution, and conservation, however, it remains largely unknown how traits and speciation dynamics can interact, particularly at a large scale. My thesis uses modern phylogenetic comparative methods and a new global database of avian morphological traits to quantify and pre...

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Authors: Sheard, C

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-6ronrdv8y
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: biodiversity; macroecology; diversification; birds; sexual selection; macroevolution
• Subjects: Evolution; Ecology