Niches and radiations: A case study on the Andean Sapphire-vented Puffleg (Eriocnemis luciani) and Coppery-naped Puffleg (E. sapphiropygia) (Aves, Trochilidae)

The interaction between ecology and evolution, particularly with regard to speciation processes, remains a main topic of scientific research. Andean hummingbirds have undergone a remarkable radiation, with many species exhibiting patchy distributions and, in some cases, taxonomic controversy. An example is the Sapphire-vented Puffleg (Eriocnemis luciani; ssp. baptistae, luciani, and meridae), which some authors merge with the Coppery-naped Puffleg (E. sapphiropygia; ssp. catharina and sapphiropygia). Each group is distributed either north or south from the Huancabamba Depression, the major biogeographical barrier within the tropical Andes. We investigated whether these subspecies share some niche characteristics despite their geographical separation and determined their meaning in the context of the speciation process of trochilids in the tropical Andes. For each subspecies, we performed geographical predictions and paired tests of niche conservatism in environmental space. Geographical...生态学与进化之间的相互作用，尤其是针对物种形成过程的研究，仍是当前科学探究的核心议题之一。安第斯蜂鸟（Andean hummingbirds）经历了显著的辐射演化，诸多物种呈现斑块状分布格局，且部分类群存在分类学争议。以蓝腹蓬腿蜂鸟（Sapphire-vented Puffleg，学名Eriocnemis luciani，包含亚种baptistae、luciani与meridae）为例，部分学者将其与铜颈蓬腿蜂鸟（Coppery-naped Puffleg，学名E. sapphiropygia，包含亚种catharina与sapphiropygia）合并为同一类群。两类群均以热带安第斯山脉内的主要生物地理屏障——万卡班巴洼地（Huancabamba Depression）为界，呈南北分布格局。本研究旨在探究：尽管存在地理隔离，这些亚种是否共享部分生态位特征，并明确其在热带安第斯地区蜂鸟类物种形成过程中的生物学意义。针对每个亚种，我们开展了地理分布预测，并在环境空间中完成了生态位保守性配对检验。地理……