Transitions between colour mechanisms affect speciation dynamics and range distributions of birds

Several ecogeographical \"rules\" have been proposed to explain colour variation at broad spatial and phylogenetic scales, but these rarely consider whether colours are based on pigments or structural colours. However, mechanism can have profound effects on the function and evolution of colours. Here, we combine geographic information, climate data, and colour mechanism at broad phylogenetic (9409 species) and spatial scales (global) to determine how transitions between pigmentary and structural colours influence speciation dynamics and range distributions in birds. Among structurally coloured species, we find that rapid dispersal into tropical regions drove the accumulation of iridescent species, whereas the build-up of non-iridescent species in the tropics was driven by a combination of dispersal and faster in situ evolution in the tropics. These results could be explained by pleiotropic links between colouration and dispersal behaviour, or ecological factors influencing colonisation su..., , , # **Transitions between colour mechanisms affect speciation dynamics and range distributions of birds**

Authors: Chad M. Eliason, Michaël P.J. Nicolaï, Cynthia Bom, Eline Blom, Liliana D’Alba, Matthew D. Shawkey

Description: Data sets and R code for analysis of structural colour evolution in birds.

#### Data

```
dataset1.csv - Confirmed structural color mechanisms from literature
Species - Scientific name
Type - Type of structural color: iridescent structural color (irid) or non-iridescent structural color (nonirid)
Structure - Nanostructure type (see Durrer 1977, Prum 2006 for details)

dataset2.csv - Final colour database used in phylogenetic analyses
Species - Scientific name matched to GBIF bird species
ISC - Presence (1) or absence (0) of iridescent structural colour
NISC - Presence (1) or absence (0) of non-iridescent structural colour
PhyJetz - Whether a species is present (1) or absent (0) from the Jetz et al. 2012 tree
PhyBurl - Whether a species is present (1) or a...