Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/132624
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Sucrose digestion capacity in birds shows convergent coevolution with nectar composition across continents |
Author: | McWhorter, T.J. Rader, J.A. Schondube, J.E. Nicolson, S.W. Pinshow, B. Fleming, P.A. Gutiérrez-Guerrero, Y.T. Martínez del Rio, C. |
Citation: | iScience, 2021; 24(7):1-14 |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Issue Date: | 2021 |
ISSN: | 2589-0042 2589-0042 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Todd J. McWhorter, Jonathan A. Rader, Jorge E. Schondube, Susan W. Nicolson, Berry Pinshow, Patricia A. Fleming, Yocelyn T. Gutie, rrez-Guerrero, and Carlos Martı, nez del Rio |
Abstract: | The major lineages of nectar-feeding birds (hummingbirds, sunbirds, honey-eaters, flowerpiercers, and lorikeets) are considered examples of convergentevolution. We compared sucrose digestion capacity and sucrase enzymatic activ-ity per unit intestinal surface area among 50 avian species from the New World,Africa, and Australia, including 20 nectarivores. With some exceptions, nectari-vores had smaller intestinal surfaces, higher sucrose hydrolysis capacity, andgreater sucrase activity per unit intestinal area. Convergence analysis showedhigh values for sucrose hydrolysis and sucrase activity per unit intestinal surfacearea in specialist nectarivores, matching the high proportion of sucrose in thenectar of the plants they pollinate. Plants pollinated by generalist nectar-feedingbirds in the Old and New Worlds secrete nectar in which glucose and fructose arethe dominant sugars. Matching intestinal enzyme activity in birds and nectarcomposition in flowers appears to be an example of convergent coevolution be-tween plants and pollinators on an intercontinental scale. |
Keywords: | Biological Sciences; Zoology; Evolutionary biology; Phylogenetics |
Rights: | ©2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102717 |
Grant ID: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP0665730 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102717 |
Appears in Collections: | Animal and Veterinary Sciences publications |
Files in This Item:
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hdl_132624.pdf | Published version | 1.9 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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