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Zoologists from Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with partners from the Halu Oleo University (UHO) and Operation Wallacea, have discovered two beautiful new species of birds in the Wakatobi Archipelago in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The details of their discovery – the white eye of Wakatobi and that of Wangi-wangi – were published today (April 24) in the Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society, the same newspaper in which Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin published their original revolutionary ideas on speciation in 1858.
Defining precisely what a species is and how it has developed has puzzled scientists for centuries, and even though we have the impression of knowing intuitively what a species is, the closer we look, the more things happen. complicated. For example, when considering populations of closely related organisms, it can be very difficult to decide where to draw the line. Recent research has shown that many distinct species intersect to some extent, making the lines more unclear.
Even if we accept the complications inherent in defining species, we still have a lot to learn about the birth of new species. From Aristotle's thinkers to Charles Darwin and beyond have spent their lives working to understand this subject. The research group of Prof. Nicola Marples of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin provided further insight into this puzzle of evolution.
Sulawesi
Professor Marples' group has been studying birds in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and in its offshore islands since 1999. Sulawesi is a particularly strange island, known for its strange and wonderful plants and animals. It is centrally located in Indonesia, bordering on Asian and Australian species, and has an unusually high number of endemic species (unique species that are found nowhere else), in because of the deep ocean trenches that isolated Sulawesi from other ice ages, when the ocean level fell.
In collaboration with UHO partners, the Trinity team has been identifying the unique biodiversity of Sulawesi for 20 years. Using a modern research approach on the issue of species separation, the team incorporates genetic measurements, body size and song as a means of comparing organisms. The differences in the song of birds are particularly important because birds use their songs to find their companions; if separate bird populations sing different songs, they do not cross each other, which allows them to move in different directions. Finally, after a number of generations, birds in different populations may be different enough to be classified as unique species.
The white eye of Wakatobi and the white eye of Wangi-wangi
One of the birds (the white eye of Wakatobi) has been involved in the debate about the species for some time while the ideas on the definition of a species have changed from the early 20th century to the present day. The other (Wangi-wangi's white eye) remained unnoticed until the beginning of the twenty-first century, when Professor Marples' research group visited the island from where he gets his name.
White eyes as a group have spread and specified faster than all other birds. They are adaptable and feed on a wide variety of fruits, flowers and insects. White eyes are also the supreme colonizers of the islands, which is why so many different white-eyed species have evolved so rapidly, as different island populations isolate and separate from their source population.
The two new white-eyed species found by Trinity and UHO follow this trend; they are both on the Wakatobi Islands, just off the southeast of Sulawesi. However, the two species could not be more different. The white eye of Wakatobi is found in all the Wakatobi Islands and has separated from its mainland relatives over the last 800,000 years. In contrast, Wangi-wangi's white eye is a much older species than found on a single tiny island, its closest relatives being more than 3,000 km away! Although this is an amazing find, living on a single tiny island means that Wangi-wangi's white eye is very vulnerable to habitat loss.
Nicola Marples, a professor of zoology at the Trinity School of Natural Sciences, said, "Finding two new species of the same kind of birds in the same island is remarkable." Wangi's white eye wangi is a particularly special discovery found on a single tiny island and its close relatives live more than 3,000 km. "
The lead author of the article, Darren O. Connell, who has just completed his Ph.D. at the Trinity Faculty of Natural Sciences and is currently working at University College Dublin, added: " These discoveries are not only of evolutionary interest – they will also be of By highlighting the unique species in the Wakatobi Islands, we can help preserve the remaining habitats on the islands, which are under tremendous pressure. ultimately ensure that the islands are recognized as endemic bird areas in order to benefit from greater conservation. support. "
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