A core question in evolutionary biology is whether convergent phenotypic evolution is driven
by convergent molecular changes in proteins or regulatory regions. We combined …

The extant diversity of the avian clade Palaeognathae is composed of the iconic flightless
ratites (ostriches, rheas, kiwi, emus, and cassowaries), and the volant tinamous of Central …

Following the discovery in the late 1980s that hard tissues such as bones and teeth preserve
genetic information, the field of ancient DNA analysis has typically concentrated upon these …

Humans have been driving a global erosion of species richness for millennia, but the
consequences of past extinctions for other dimensions of biodiversity—functional and …

Previous research suggests that people first arrived on Madagascar by~ 2500 years before
present (years BP). This hypothesis is consistent with butchery marks on extinct lemur bones …

Palaeognathae represent one of the two basal lineages in modern birds, and comprise the
volant (flighted) tinamous and the flightless ratites. Resolving palaeognath phylogenetic …

The extinct dromornithids, gastornithids and phorusrhacids are among the most spectacular
birds to have ever lived, with some giants exceeding 500 kg. The affinities and evolution of …

The realization that ancient biomolecules are preserved in “fossil” samples has
revolutionized archaeological science. Protein sequences survive longer than DNA, but their …

Reconstructing relationships among extant birds (Neornithes) has been one of the most
difficult problems in phylogenetics, and, despite intensive effort, the avian tree of life remains …

The success and failure of past cultures across the Arctic was tightly coupled to the ability of
past peoples to exploit the full range of resources available to them. There is substantial …