TheSulawesiregion of Indonesiais a unequalled yet understudied biodiversity hotspot . East of Borneo and Second Earl of Guilford of Java , this big starfish - shaped island is home to the Grey - sided Flowerpecker ( Dicaeum celebicum ) . These little doll have a double - tubed , brush - tipped clapper , and they flit about trees and shrubs bet for small fruit .
population living on a small chain of islands off the southeastern Sulawesi peninsula – call the Wakatobi archipelago – were originally described as a separate species from those on the nearby mainland of Sulawesi . But for reasons unknown , they were reclassified as a subspecies ( Dicaeum celebicum kuehni ) of the mainland form .
To see if a reassessment is in fiat , an external squad lead bySeán Kelly from Trinity College Dublintook a multi - disciplinal approach – combining genetic , diversification , and structural data of the Wakatobi populations from seven sites off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi . Using mist nets , they captured and released 58 of the flowerpeckers from Buton and Wakatobi Islands during summer month between 1999 and 2012 .
Their estimate of genetic divergence and phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis show that the offshore Wakatobi population is a separate coinage than those on the mainland . Because the chick are reproductively isolated and genetically and morphologically distinct , the team recommends reclassifying these populations to their original statusof Wakatobi Flowerpecker , Dicaeum kuehni .
These fresh depict birds are importantly turgid , and the genetic information reveal that the two flowerpecker species do n’t amalgamate or hybridise , nor do they cross the 27 kilometer stretch of sea between them .
Here are more pictures for comparison . The odd column are flowerpeckers from mainland Sulawesi , the ripe column are flowerpeckers from the Wakatobi archipelago . Males are in the top row , female are in the bottom words .
“ Accurate datum on the distribution and condition of bird species are regularly used to inform conservation practice and industrial development , ” Kelly says in anews liberation . “ As mankind are changing the natural environments of Sulawesi at an incredibly fast pace , the discovery and verbal description of species in the area is of major grandness . ”
He bring : “ We execute the hazard of losing evolutionarily distinct mintage before we can even detect or enjoy them . ”
Thefindingswere publish inPLOS Onethis week .
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Images : 2014 Kelly et al . , PLOS One
