Variation in bill surface area is associated with local climatic factors across populations of the plain laughingthrush

• Published in: Ecology and evolution 2023-09, Vol.13 (9), p.e10535-n/a
• Main Authors: Liu, Pengfei, Lou, Yingqiang, Yao, Jingxiao, Wang, Linghui, Møller, Anders Pape, Sun, Yuehua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allen's rule; Animal biology; bill morphology; Bioclimatology; Biogeography; Birds; Climate; Climatic conditions; Climatic zones; Cold; Cooling; Ecology, environment; Evolution; Extreme environments; Garrulax davidi; Heat; heat dissipation; Humidity; Life Sciences; Metabolism; Morphology; Populations; Precipitation; Surface area; tarsus length; Temperature; Thermoregulation; Vertebrate Zoology
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10535

Recent studies have found that avian bill and tarsus morphology may have evolved in response to climatic conditions, and these organs play important roles in thermoregulation and water retention in extreme environments. Here, we examined whether bill surface area and tarsus length were associated with climatic conditions in the plain laughingthrush, Garrulax davidi, which mainly occurs in north China and occupies several climatic zones from east to west. We measured bill surface area and tarsus length in 321 adults from 11 populations, almost encompassing all habitat types of the species. We analyzed the relationships among these morphological traits and local climatic factors. Bill surface area was positively correlated with maximum temperature, indicating that bill surface area tended to be larger in hotter environments. Furthermore, we found a negative relationship among bill surface area and winter precipitation, indicating that bill surface area tended to be larger in arid areas. However, we did not find any relationships between tarsus length and climatic factors. These results suggest that local climates may shape the evolution of bill morphology divergence, and summer seems to be the critical season for thermoregulation in this temperate zone passerine. Our study first provided evidence for Allen's rule that bill size was associated with environmental condition in the plain laughingthrush. This study adds the evidence of evolution of bill and tarsus morphology in birds.