The origin, distribution, and function of biological diversity are fundamental themes of
ecology and evolutionary biology. Research on birds has played a major role in the history …

Understanding the mechanisms underlying species formation and differentiation is a central
goal of evolutionary biology and a formidable challenge. This understanding can provide …

Relative brain sizes in birds can rival those of primates, but large-scale patterns and drivers
of avian brain evolution remain elusive. Here, we explore the evolution of the fundamental …

How traits affect speciation is a long-standing question in evolution. We investigate whether
speciation rates are affected by the traits themselves or by the rates of their evolution, in …

The processes that allow some lineages to diversify rapidly at a global scale remain poorly
understood. Although earlier studies emphasized the importance of dispersal, global …

Seasonal migration is an underappreciated driver of animal diversification. Changes in
migratory behaviour may favour the establishment of sedentary founder populations and …

Is behavior special? This question has often had a dual meaning in evolutionary biology.
Not only does it ask whether behavioral expression is different from other traits, but it also …

Here we analyze existing quantitative data available for cephalopod brains based on
classical contributions by JZ Young and colleagues, to cite some. We relate the relative …

Understanding variation in rates of evolution and morphological disparity is a goal of
macroevolutionary research. In a phylogenetic comparative methods framework, we present …

Conflicting theories have been proposed to explain variation in relative brain size across the
animal kingdom. Ecological theories argue that the cognitive demands of seasonal or …