Phylogeography and population genetics of the needle-billed hermit (phaethornis philippii, aves, trochilidae)

Abstract

Phaethornis philippii is a monotypic species of hummingbird, with distribution in the humid forests of western and Central Amazonia. It occurs in eastern Peru, northern Bolivia and Brazil, south of the Solimões and Amazon rivers and west of the Tapajós river. Despite being included in some previous phylogenetic works, the evolutionary history of the species has not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we review the taxonomy of the species through morphological and molecular characters, in addition to proposing a denser phylogenetic hypothesis for the lineages grouped in P. philippii and to investigate its history of diversification, comparing it with biogeographic scenarios already proposed for the Amazon. Our phylogenetic and population genetic analyzes revealed six reciprocally monophyletic lineages within P. philippii and suggest that diversification in this group occurred during the Pleistocene between 2.5 and 0.3 mya. Our results show that Phaethornis philippii may have difficulties crossing barriers such as major Amazon rivers. Even narrower rivers such as Aripuanã, Jiparaná and Tarauacá can represent barriers to dispersal, reinforcing the hypothesis that “mini-interfluves” also have a notable influence regarding the structuring and diversification of birds in the Amazon. Our study sheds light on the historical population dynamics of this species, which may have also been influenced by climatic variations during the late Pleistocene, where we found evidence of recent events influencing the diversification of lineages within P. philippii, mainly associated to current and historical courses of Amazonian rivers.