First ever family tree for all living birds reveals evolution and diversification.

[Bradyns]

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[quote]
[IMG]http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2012/firsteverfam.gif[/IMG]
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This shows the Bird Family Tree. Credit: University of Sheffield
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The world's first family tree linking all living bids and revealing when and where they evolved and diversified since dinosaurs walked the earth has been created by scientists from the University of Sheffield.

Experts used the family tree to map out where the almost 10,000 species of birds live to show where the most diversification has taken place in the world.

Researchers, from the University of Sheffield, Yale University, University of Tasmania and Simon Fraser University, say the creation of new species has speeded-up over the last 50 million years. Surprisingly, species formation is not faster in the species rich tropics, but was found to be faster in the Western Hemisphere compared to the Eastern Hemisphere as well as on islands.

As well as being the first time scientists have created a family tree for birds, it is hoped the research could help prioritise conservation efforts in a bid to save the most diverse species from extinction.

Dr Gavin Thomas, of the University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, said: "We have built the first ever family tree showing the evolutionary relationship among the species of birds. We used fossils and genetic data to estimate the ages of all the different branches of the bird tree so that we could assess how diversity has accumulated through time. Our work is indebted to researchers from museums and universities who have collected astounding amounts of genetic data from birds around the world."

Despite major steps forward in modern super computers it has still taken the researchers almost five years to analyse the millions of year's worth of fossil data, DNA, maths and maps, to create this never-before-snapshot of how the thousands of birds alive made it to where they are today.

To even enable the scientists to calculate which species were more or less diverse they had to create a new "species rate" measure.

Dr Thomas added: "Diversification is the net outcome of new species arising, called speciation, and existing species going extinct. We combined this data with existing data on the geographic ranges of all living bird species so that we could map diversification across the world.

"This 'phylogeny' is important because it is the first that includes all living birds. It means we can ask questions about biodiversity and evolution on a global scale and gain new insight into how diversity has changed over millions of years as well as understand those changes. More widely, one way in which the phylogeny can be used, and which may not be obvious, is in helping to prioritise conservation efforts.

"We can identify where species at greatest risk of extinction are on the tree and ask how much distinct evolutionary history they represent. Some species have many close relatives and represent a small amount of distinct evolutionary history whereas others have few close relatives and their loss would represent the disappearance of vast amounts of evolutionary history that could never be recovered. Environmental change has very likely affected diversification over time. Climate change could be a part of that through its effects on the extent of different types of habitat."

The paper – titled 'The global diversity of birds in space and time' - is published in the journal Nature.

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Source:
[URL]http://phys.org/news/2012-10-family-tree-birds-reveals-evolution.html[/URL]
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[Curls]

people will just ignore this, even still.

We need more of these.

[zakededodead]

weres ur missin link

[Thegreen]

How did almost 10,000 species turn into all living species? All living species haven't been identified.

[DokVis]

Is there a link to a bigger image?

[Kaihong]

I want one about us :D

[Zillamaster55]

I love birds :3

Tiny dinosaurs.

Or really vicious average-sized ones like the Casowary.

[King Tiger]

Where do penguins fit?

[SystemGS]

wow thats a lot of seagulls

[MrEndangered]

[QUOTE=SystemGS;38268542]wow thats a lot of [B]gulls[/B][/QUOTE]

[Electrocuter]

[QUOTE=zakedodead;38268106]weres ur missin link[/QUOTE]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxrxnPG05SU[/media]

[Gekkosan]

[QUOTE=King Tiger;38268512]Where do penguins fit?[/QUOTE]

They fit somewhere in there. Penguins are birds of sorts.

[Zenreon]

Evolution does not create any new genes. It just activate certain ones. Mutation does not add information it destroys it. How did cells evolve? Evolution is bunk

[Sgt-NiallR]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;38269694]Evolution does not create any new genes. It just activate certain ones. Mutation does not add information it destroys it. How did cells evolve? Evolution is bunk[/QUOTE]

It modifies existing genes, and when something is modified enough, it becomes something else.

Sort of like species, actually.

[Jeff the Hobo]

I guess my [URL="http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1219220&p=38093541&viewfull=1#post38093541"]previous theory[/URL] is now debunk

[imptastick2]

So I guess that the Birds of Britain had it wrong with the mysteriously coming to earth then.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfvEgWINUFc[/media]

Also I want to see where the hoatzin falls on this, they are so unique

[img]http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/willow/hoatzin-info0.gif[/img]

[Faren]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;38269694]Evolution does not create any new genes. It just activate certain ones. Mutation does not add information it destroys it. How did cells evolve? Evolution is bunk[/QUOTE]

everything you just said was wrong

I hope it was on purpose

if not, please read a book on the topic before embarrassing yourself again

[Canary]

[img]http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2012/firsteverfam.gif[/img]

[imptastick2]

[QUOTE=Canary;38272121][img]http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2012/firsteverfam.gif[/img][/QUOTE]

Well I found hoatzin, but it did not really tell me much. I hope they release a really large one you can zoom in on. I bet my adviser would love a copy of this he is a ornithologist and teaches multiple taxonomic and evolution classes so this is right up his alley.

[Novangel]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;38269694]Evolution does not create any new genes. It just activate certain ones. Mutation does not add information it destroys it. How did cells evolve? Evolution is bunk[/QUOTE]

I hope you realize how dumb you sound.

[PyneApple]

I love evolution.

[QUOTE=Novangel;38273882]I hope you realize how dumb you sound.[/QUOTE]

I hope he's joking.

[deanpfr]

God did it. You evil satan worshipping atheists will face judgement one day!!!

God bless.

[Zenreon]

I have to agree with darwin on some of the doubts about his theory.

Firstly:
“Why, if species have descended from other species by insensibly fine gradations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms.” - Charles Darwin

Secondly:
"If numerous species, belonging to the same genera or families, have really started into life all at once, the fact would be fatal to the theory to descent with slow modification though natural selection." -Darwin
The Cambrian Explosion - Ba-Bam!

Thirdly
"Here, as on other occasions, I lie under a heavy disadvantage, for out of the many striking cases which I have collected, I can give only one or two instances of transitional habits and structures in closely allied species of the same genus; and of diversified habits, either constant or occasional, in the same species. And it seems to me that nothing less than a long list of such cases is sufficient to lessen the difficulty in any particular case like that of the bat."
All you have is a series of distinct animals that appear out of nowhere at various times, but you just order them according to likeness.

I reserve my opinion about this [b]theory.[/b]

[editline]1st November 2012[/editline]

Our supposed "Prehuman" ancestor such as the australipithicus are no different from a chimp skeleton. A massive amount of inference is used. The difference between modern human and the "Proto-humans" is something that is not significant enough to call a different species. The skulls of those such as the Cro-magnon and homo-habilis are different from are own in so much as a chinese skull is different from a black man's skull. It is a difference of race. Evolution is a whole lot of conjecture and propaganda. Animals do adapt to a certain degree, but they dont change species.

[NoDachi]

You do realise that the understanding of evolution didn't stop with darwin. He just proposed the idea, then add hundreds of years of supporting science on top of that.

[OvB]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;38280849]

I reserve my opinion about this [b]theory.[/b]
[/QUOTE]

Time for a thread arguing the difference between a Hypothesis and a Theory.

[Zenreon]

That really only addresses my/darwin's third point

[NoDachi]

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;38280849]chinese skull is different from a black man's skull. It is a difference of race. [/QUOTE]

You do realise that Chinese and 'black men' are practically genetically identical. There is not enough differentiation between the ~races~ for them to be classed as races.

Human races don't exist, and they haven't since 19th century world science.

Stop calling ethnic groups, 'races'.

[Zenreon]

Im talking about anatomy, IE the shape of the skull and average bone sizes

[KlaseR]

evolution is a lie. jysus 2012

[Zenreon]

[QUOTE=KlaseR;38281024]evolution is a lie. jysus 2012[/QUOTE]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slKULc8W7lM[/media]