Data from: Adaptive processes drive ecomorphological convergent evolution in antwrens (Thamnophilidae)

Phylogenetic niche conservatism and convergence are contrasting
evolutionary patterns that describe phenotypic similarity across
independent lineages. Assessing whether and how adaptive processes give
origin to these patterns represent a fundamental step toward understanding
phenotypic evolution. Phylogenetic model-based approaches offer the
opportunity not only to distinguish between phylogenetic niche
conservatism and convergence, but also to determine the extent that
adaptive processes explain phenotypic similarity. The Myrmotherula complex
in the Neotropical family Thamnophilidae is a polyphyletic group of
sexually dimorphic small insectivorous forest birds that are relatively
homogeneous in size and shape. Here, we integrate a comprehensive
species-level molecular phylogeny of the Myrmotherula complex with
morphometric and ecological data within a comparative framework to test
whether phenotypic similarity is described by a pattern of phylogenetic
niche conservatism or convergence, and to identify evolutionary mechanisms
underlying body size and shape evolution. We show that antwrens in the
Myrmotherula complex represent distantly related clades that exhibit
adaptive convergent evolution in body size and divergent evolution in body
shape. Phenotypic similarity in the group is primarily driven by their
tendency to converge toward smaller body sizes. Differences in body size
and shape across lineages are associated to ecological and behavioral
factors.