Jente Ottenburghs

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Verified

Jente verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD
• Lecturer at Wageningen University & Research

Understory is a key component of forest biodiversity. The structure of the forest stand and the horizontal composition of the canopy play a major role on the light regime of the understory, which in turn affects the abundance and the diversity of the understory plant community. Reliable assessments of canopy structural attributes are essential for...

Mitigating loss of genetic diversity is a major global biodiversity challenge1, 2, 3–4. To meet recent international commitments to maintain genetic diversity within species5,6, we need to understand relationships between threats, conservation management and genetic diversity change. Here we conduct a global analysis of genetic diversity change via...

Hybridization—the interbreeding of different species—is a relatively common phenomenon in birds, but its study is biased towards certain taxa. In this review, we focus on a bird group that has received less attention: terns (Laridae, Sterninae). Based on an extensive literature search, we found records for 16 hybrids between tern species, with vary...

Divergence in gametic traits can play a key role in reproductive isolation. Lifjeld et al. (2024) examined the evolution of sperm length in pairs of songbird populations at various stages along the speciation continuum. Their analyses demonstrated that sperm length diverges more rapidly in species with higher levels of female promiscuity, likely du...

Cases of anomalous coloration are regularly reported in Neotropical mammals, including the rodent family Dasyproctidae (agoutis and acouchis) where leucistic and albino individuals have been observed. Here, we document the first case of leucism in the Brown Agouti (Dasyprocta variegata) in Bolivia. During a camera trap survey of the Barba Azul Natu...

Understory is a key component of forest biodiversity. The structure of the forest stand and the horizontal composition of the canopy play a major role on the light regime of the understory, which in turn affects the abundance and the diversity of the understory plant community. Reliable assessments of canopy structural attributes are essential for...

Differences in behaviour can play an important role in the emergence of species and the maintenance of species boundaries. In birds, behavioural isolation mechanisms range from simple vocalizations to elaborate courtship displays. The breakdown of these isolation mechanisms could result in the production of viable hybrid offspring. In general, we m...

How does sexual selection impact introgression dynamics across a hybrid zone? Long et al. (2024) used historical (1989-1994) and contemporary (2017-2020) samples to quantify the stability of a Panamanian hybrid zone between golden-collared manakin birds (Manacus vitellinus) and white-collared manakins (M. candei). Their analyses revealed a spatiall...

The evolution of interspecific mimicry does not always result in perfect resemblance between mimics and models. Differences between members of a mimicry complex can be explained by genetic or developmental constraints. Alternatively, imperfect mimicry might be the outcome of a tradeoff between multiple selective pressures. In this study, we explore...

The study of sexual dichromatism has generally focused on sexual selection for conspicuous males, ignoring the potential role played by selection in females. To address this problem, Price et al. (2023) took into account evolutionary changes in both males and females when investigating evolution of plumage dichromatism across the New World blackbir...

One of iconic Africa's Big Five, the African buffalo is the largest African bovine or antelope that occurs throughout most of sub-Sahara and in a wide range of ecosystems from savanna to rainforest. The African buffalo is also one of the most successful large African mammals in terms of abundance and biomass. This species thus represents a powerful...

Hybridization—the interbreeding of different species—plays an integral role in the evolution of numerous bird species. However, it remains unclear how widespread this phenomenon is within and across different bird groups. Estimating the incidence of hybridization in different bird lineages can inform comparative analyses to uncover the evolutionary...

Introgressive hybridization can give rise to reticulated patterns in a phylogeny. In a recent study, DeBaun et al. (2023) detected 12 reticulation events across the phylogeny of the Madagascar Gemsnakes, suggesting that their evolutionary history cannot be captured in a bifurcating tree. Moreover, identifying the true network of a group is difficul...

Background Reconstructing phylogenetic relationships with genomic data remains a challenging endeavor. Numerous phylogenomic studies have reported incongruent gene trees when analyzing different genomic regions, complicating the search for a ‘true’ species tree. Some authors have argued that genomic regions of increased divergence (i.e. differentia...

When members of the same population follow distinct migration routes, a migratory divide can arise. Could differences in migratory strategies contribute to genetic differentiation and possibly speciation? In this study, Turbek et al. (2022) combine genomic data, stable isotopes, and geolocators to characterize a migratory divide between two subspec...

With increasing concerns about sustainable exploitation of tropical timber, there is a need for developing independent tools to check their origin. We evaluated the potential of tree-ring stable isotopes for identifying four Cedrela species (C. balansae, C. fissilis, C. odorata, and C. saltensis) and for identifying geographic origin of C. fissilis...

Animal species differ considerably in their ability to fight off infections. Finding the genetic basis of these differences is not easy, as the immune response is comprised of a complex network of proteins that interact with one another to defend the body against infection. Here, we used population- and comparative genomics to study the evolutionar...

What biotic and abiotic factors drive hybrid zone movement? By resampling a classic hybrid zone between two sub‐species of woodpeckers, Aguillon & Rohwer (2022) documented a westward shift that may be attributed to changes in land use or climate. These findings highlight the increasing influence of anthropogenic activities on hybridization events....

Ectoparasites such as ticks face many challenges to reproduce. They must maximize the size of their blood meal while avoiding being removed by their host. In a new study, Fracasso and colleagues (2022) followed the fate of individual ticks to determine which life history traits impact tick fitness. Their findings reveal a complex interplay between...

According to Haldane’s Rule, the heterogametic sex will show the greatest fitness reduction in a hybrid cross. In birds, where sex is determined by a ZW-system, female hybrids are expected to experience lower fitness compared to male hybrids. This pattern has indeed been observed in several bird groups, but it is unknown whether the generality of H...

The shape and position of clines can provide crucial insights into the evolutionary forces at work in hybrid zones. In this issue, Del-Rio and colleagues (2021) applied cline theory to a hybrid zone between two antbird species in Amazonia. A narrow and displaced mitochondrial cline suggests that the selected genetic marker failed to track the north...

Romilio (2021) used a taxonomic scoring system to compare differences between three species of geese (Anseriformes) depicted in the Chapel of Itet, one of which he speculated might represent an undescribed (presumably now extinct) species. Despite some apparently distinctive features, the depiction has traditionally been associated with the well-kn...

Captive bird hybrids can provide important data on certain traits, such as hybrid viability and fertility. In this paper, we describe four hybrids between the Chiloé wigeon (Anas sibilatrix) and the Philippine duck (Anas luzonica). These two species diverged about 13 million years ago and are found on different continents, making the occurrence of...

Estimates suggest that about 16% of bird species hybridize in the wild. This number is based on two main sources: the Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World by Eugene McCarthy and the online Serge Dumont Bird Hybrids Database. Although both sources provide supporting references for the documented hybrids, the reliability of these references has not...

Distinct traits between mainland and island populations provide an excellent opportunity to study the evolution and genetic basis of these traits. In this issue, Walsh et al. (8) unraveled the evolution of black plumage color that arose independently in two island populations of the white‐winged fairywren. They also described the first steps in und...

Human impact is noticeable around the globe, indicating that a new era might have begun: the Anthropocene. Continuing human activities, including land use changes, introduction of non‐native species and rapid climate change, are altering the distributions of countless species, often giving rise to human‐mediated hybridization events. While the inte...

As a highly diverse vertebrate class, bird species have adapted to various ecological systems. How this phenotypic diversity can be explained genetically is intensively debated and is likely grounded in differences in the genome content. Larger and more complex genomes could allow for greater genetic regulation that results in more phenotypic varie...

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 and development of these ideas, yet progress was for many decades limited by a focus on patterns of current diversity, often restricted to particular clades or regions. D...

Mimicry can directly affect the evolutionary history of models, mimics, and signal receivers. Mimics often use multimodal signaling in order to deceive receivers. Jamie et al. (2020) showed that brood parasitic birds display multimodal signaling of mimetic traits triggered by sexual and filial imprinting on host species. These resulting adaptations...

Can we simultaneously infer divergence times and shared demographic events? Oaks et al. (2020) introduce a full‐likelihood Bayesian method based on genomic data and show that this endeavor remains challenging. Their exercise also reveals some promising avenues for future modelling attempts. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserve...

The winter‐brown phenotype of snowshoe hares in the Pacific Northwest was acquired through hybridization with black‐tailed jackrabbits. Some snowshoe hares in more northern boreal populations exhibit the same phenotype, but how did they acquire it? Jones and colleagues (2020a) show that the phenotype in the boreal populations is the outcome of conv...

How does environmental heterogeneity affect natural selection on tree swallow nestlings? Houle et al. (2020) show that more precipitation and higher temperatures result in stronger selection on body mass and wing length and that agricultural intensity can affect the direction of selection. These findings raise the question of how genetic diversity...

Hybridization between different bird species is relatively common, but the hybridization rate of individuals is not well known. Justyn et al. (2020) use data from the citizen science project eBird to assess the individual hybridization rate in birds, showing that 0.064% of individuals are hybrids. The accuracy of this new estimate is affected by po...

Several studies have uncovered a highly heterogeneous landscape of genetic differentiation across the genomes of closely related species. Specifically, genetic differentiation is often concentrated in particular genomic regions (“islands of differentiation”) that might contain barrier loci contributing to reproductive isolation, whereas the rest of...

How wide is the time window for introgression after divergence? Pulido‐Santacruz et al. (2020) addressed this question by studying the evolutionary history of the bird genus Dendrocincla. They found five introgression events that occurred between a few hundred thousand and around 2.5 million years after divergence. The introgressed genomic proporti...

Evolution is a continuous trial and error process in which most lineages go extinct without leaving fossil remains. Many of these lineages would be closely related and occasionally hybridized with lineages that gave rise to extant species. Hence, it is likely that one can find genetic signatures of these ancient introgression events in present‐day...

What evolutionary processes shaped the genomic landscape of differentiation in Selaphorus hummingbirds? Battey (2020) shows that the islands of differentiation on the Z‐chromosome are most likely the outcome of linked selection. Furthermore, these islands might contain barrier loci that contribute to reproductive isolation between these hybridizing...

Existing approaches to species delimitation use the extent of divergence between taxa. However, processes such as gene flow during divergence or secondary contact, as well as population expansion and migration, complicate this task. Smith and Carstens (2019) introduce the R package delimitR, which uses machine learning to integrate gene flow into s...

p>Hybridization is not always limited to two species; often multiple species are interbreeding. In birds, there are numerous examples of species that hybridize with multiple other species. The advent of genomic data provides the opportunity to investigate the ecological and evolutionary consequences of multispecies hybridization. The interactions b...

Did you know that most people have about 3% Neanderthal DNA? About 40,000 years ago, ancient humans and Neanderthals had kids together. The mixing of these two species resulted in the exchange of DNA, a process that biologists call introgression. When the Neanderthals became extinct, humans could only have kids with other humans. Over time, the per...

When organisms colonize a new area, they can come into secondary contact with closely related species. Consequent hybridization can lead to homogenizing gene flow and prevent genetic divergence. However, some lineages, like the White‐eye birds examined in this study, can speciate rapidly while colonizing a wide geographic area. The authors suggest...

Is there evidence for convergence in the molecular mechanisms underlying the loss of flight in the avian evolutionary tree? Campagna et al. (2019) used genomic data to investigate the genetic basis of flightlessness in steamer ducks, a recently diverged clade that is polymorphic with respect to flight. They found an association between morphologica...

What is a species? This seemingly simple question has occupied the minds of numerous biologists and philosophers, resulting in the formulation of many species concepts. From a theoretical point of view, the species problem has been resolved by equating species with independently evolving lineages (i.e. the evolutionary species concept or the genera...

Population genetics is the study of genetic variation within populations and how allele frequencies change over space and time. This field largely focuses on the five fundamental evolutionary processes that influence genetic variation: mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, natural selection, and recombination. In this chapter, we review how genomic d...

Hybridization is increasingly recognized as a creative evolutionary force contributing to adaptation and speciation. Homoploid hybrid speciation—the process in which hybridization results in a stable, fertile, and reproductively isolated hybrid lineage where there is no change in ploidy—has been documented in several taxa. Hybridization can directl...

Combating illegal timber trade requires the ability to identify species and verify geographic origin of timber. Forensic techniques that independently verify the declared species and geographic origin are needed, as current legality procedures are based on certificates and documents that can be falsified. Timber from the genus Cedrela is among the...

Regelmatig worden kruisingen tussen verschillende vogelsoorten gespot. Naar schat-ting heeft minstens 16 procent van alle vogelsoorten wel eens gekruist met een andere soort (Ottenburghs et al. 2015) en heel wat van deze kruisingen – of hybriden – blijken ook nog eens vruchtbaar te zijn. De koplopers in hybridisatie zijn water-vogels (Anseriformes:...

Background The impacts of hybridization on the process of speciation are manifold, leading to distinct patterns across the genome. Genetic differentiation accumulates in certain genomic regions, while divergence is hampered in other regions by homogenizing gene flow, resulting in a heterogeneous genomic landscape. A consequence of this heterogeneit...

Introgression, the incorporation of genetic material from one (sub)species into the gene pool of another by means of hybridization and backcrossing, is a common phenomenon in birds and can provide important insights into the speciation process. In the last decade, the toolkit for studying introgression has expanded together with the development of...

Reconstructing the avian tree of life has become one of the major goals in ornithology. The use of genomic tools seemed a promising approach to reach this goal, but, instead, phylogenetic analyses of large numbers of genes uncovered high levels of incongruence between the resulting gene trees. This incongruence can be caused by several biological p...

Continuous animal populations often become fragmented due to anthropogenic habitat alterations. These small, fragmented populations are fragile due to demographic and genetic factors, whereas immigration can enhance their long-term viability. Previously, we showed that high philopatry affected the local dynamics of three small and remnant subpopula...

The high incidence of hybridization in waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) makes this bird group an excellent study system to answer questions related to the evolution and maintenance of species boundaries. However, knowledge on waterfowl hybridization is biased towards ducks, with a large knowledge gap in geese. In this review, we assemble the avai...

Hybridization, the interbreeding of different species, plays an important role in several evolutionary processes, such as adaptive trait transfer (Arnold 2006, Arnold et al. 2008, Hedrick 2013), adaptive radiations (Seehausen 2004), and the origin of new species (Mavarez & Linares 2008, Abbott et al. 2013, Schumer et al. 2014). However, hybridizati...

The construction of phylogenetic trees can be thwarted by incomplete lineage sorting and introgressive hybridization. The application of different phylogenomic tools provides solutions to overcome these difficulties. We used two approaches to construct the species tree for the genus Anser, a bird group that is prone to hybridization. This genus con...