Phylogenetic Systematics of Charadriiform Birds Based on Morphological Analysis

密歇根大学的麦基特里克博士将研究一大批鸟类的进化关系，这些鸟类包括矶鹬、高跷、鸻、海鸥、燕鸥和海雀（隼目）。从进化的角度来看，这个群体非常有趣，因为它的成员虽然可能是近亲，但对水里和水周围的生活表现出各种各样的适应能力，因此是一个非常多样化的组合。许多这些适应包括内部和外部的解剖变化。这引发了生物学家之间关于这些鸟类之间某些解剖相似性和差异的意义的激烈争论：这些相似性是反映了密切的家谱关系，还是仅仅是在相似的环境条件下进化而来的独立现象？本提案将使用来自后肢肌肉组织和发声器官解剖的数据来解决这些问题。这项研究将产生关于该群体内部谱系关系的假设，以及关于内部解剖结构如何进化的假设。这项研究还将产生大量描述性数据，这些数据将在其他关于脊椎动物解剖学进化趋势的比较研究中发挥重要作用。

Dr. McKitrick at the University of Michigan will study evolutionary relationships within a large group of birds that includes the sandpipers, stilts, plovers, gulls, terns and auks (Order Charadriiformes). This group is of great interest from an evolutionary perspective because its members, while presumably closely related, show a wide variety of adaptations for life in and around water and are consequently a very diverse assemblage. Many of these adaptations have involved internal as well as external anatomical changes. This has led to spirited debate among biologists about the significance of certain anatomical similarities and differences among these birds: do the similarities reflect close genealogical relationship or are they merely independent occurrences that have evolved in response to similar environmental conditions? This proposal will address such questions using data from the hindlimb musculature and from the anatomy of the vocal apparatus. The study will yield hypotheses about genealogical relationships within the group, as well as about how the internal anatomy has evolved. The study will also result in a large body of descriptive data that will be of great use in other comparative studies about evolutionary trends in vertebrate anatomy.