Utku Perktaş

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Full) at Hacettepe University

Diagnosing distinct evolutionary taxa requires careful assessment of genetic, morphological, ecological, and behavioral variation within and among populations. In this study, data on phenotype (mensural and plumage coloration), genotype (mitochondrial DNA control-region sequences), and distributional projections derived from ecological niche models...

The green woodpecker complex consists of the green woodpecker (Picus viridis), distributed from Western Europe to the Caucasus and Iran, and the related LeVaillant's woodpecker (P. vaillantii), distributed in north‐western Africa from central Morocco to Tunisia. Much of the habitat of green woodpeckers in Central and Northern Europe was covered by...

One of the fundamental goals of phylogeographical studies should be to achieve a comprehensive geographical sampling of any investigated group. In this study, we conducted the most comprehensive geographical investigation to date for the great spotted woodpecker complex (Dendrocopos major), including populations from North Africa and Eurasia [inclu...

Measurement error in morphological characters is an important issue for many ornithological studies (e.g. ecomorphology, quantitative studies of heritability, studies of systematic and geographic variation). The variation in external morphological characters, such as wing and tarsus length, is usually evaluated using multivariate statistical method...

The Mediterranean Basin, a region renowned for its biodiversity, is experiencing unprecedented ecological changes owing to shifting climate patterns. This study employs ecological niche modeling to assess impacts of historical, current, and future climate scenarios on climatic suitability patterns for 36 endemic amphibian species. The study incorpo...

The Mediterranean Basin, a region renowned for its biodiversity, is experiencing unprecedented ecological changes owing to shifting climate patterns. This study employs ecological niche modeling to assess impacts of historical, current, and future climate scenarios on climatic suitability patterns for 36 endemic amphibian species. The study incorpo...

This study integrates phylogeography with distributional analysis to understand the demographic history and range dynamics of a limited dispersal capacity amphibian species, Blue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale), under several climate change scenarios. For this we used an ecological niche modeling approach, together with Bayesian based demog...

Nearctic migratory songbirds have demonstrated low levels of genetic differentiation and weak phylogeographical structure in mitochondrial DNA lineages compared with resident species. The common grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a widespread, partially migratory, North American icterid composed of three currently recognized subspecies. In this study,...

Climatic variability is the most important force influencing the distribution dynamics of common and widespread species, with significant effects on their current biogeographical patterns. In this study, phylogeography was integrated with ecological niche modelling to understand the range dynamics of an Australian bird species, the red-backed fairy...

A bstract This study integrates phylogeography with distributional analysis to understand the demographic history and range dynamics of a limited dispersal capacity amphibian species, Blue-spotted Salamander ( Ambystoma laterale ), under several climate change scenarios. For this we used an ecological niche modeling approach, together with Bayesian...

Studies of biodiversity dynamics have been cast on either long (systematics) or short (ecology) time scales, leaving a gap in coverage for moderate time scales of decades to centuries. Large-scale biodiversity information resources now available offer opportunities to fill this gap for many parts of the world via detailed, quantitative comparisons...

Background Climate change due to anthropogenic global warming is the most important factor that will affect future range distribution of species and will shape future biogeographic patterns. While much effort has been expended in understanding how climate change will affect rare and declining species we have less of an understanding of the likely c...

Rock Nuthatches comprise two morphologically similar species: Western Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer and Eastern Rock Nuthatch Sitta tephronota, with several subspecies within each species. These two species are closely related, and the two together are often considered an offshoot of the Sitta europaea group. The Western Rock Nuthatch is distributed...

The responses of Anatolian plants to global climate change have been poorly investigated. In this study, we aimed to understand how climatic oscillation during the Quaternary period helped to shape the current distribution patterns of the Anatolian endemic Noccaea iberidea, a typical representative of tragacanthic (thorny cushion) steppe communitie...

The responses of Anatolian plants to global climate change have been poorly investigated. In this study, we aimed to understand how climatic oscillation during the Quaternary period helped to shape the current distribution patterns of the Anatolian endemic Noccaea iberidea, a typical representative of tragacanthic (thorny cushion) steppe communitie...

Climate variability is the most important force affecting distributional range dynamics of common and widespread species with important impacts on biogeographic patterns. This study integrates phylogeography with distributional analyses to understand the demographic history and range dynamics of a widespread bird species, the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa...

Climate variability is the most important force affecting distributional range dynamics of common and widespread species with important impacts on biogeographic patterns. This study integrates phylogeography with distributional analyses to understand the demographic history and range dynamics of a widespread bird species, the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa...

Climate variability is one of the most important forces affecting the distributional range dynamics of species and consequentially plays a significant role in shaping biogeographic patterns. This study aims to infer the role of climate in the recent evolutionary history of the Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula. Studies of other migratory North Amer...

We used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to examine patterns of differentiation and evolution in the Musophagidae, an avian family endemic to sub-Saharan Africa; attention was focused on the subfamily Musophaginae, the turacos, or louries. Phylogeographic analysis of 410 individual ND2 sequences from throughout the ranges of the currently re...

In this study, we tested whether the Sharp-tailed Grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus experienced rapid demographic expansion and shifts in its distribution from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present and to the future. For this, we integrated two different approaches, phylogeography and ecological niche modeling, to understand the historical demograp...

Capsule: This study documents evidence of interglacial refugia during the Last Interglacial for birds in the Mediterranean region, and emphasizes the importance of the Last Interglacial on the geographic distribution and genetic structure of Mediterranean species. Aims: We focused on the historical biogeography of the subalpine warbler complex: Su...

In this study, we address the evolutionary relationships and discuss the biogeographical history of a complex and diverse group of ovenbirds, the Thripophagini. We reconstruct the phylogeny and estimate the time of divergence of this group, using sequences from two complete mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and NADH subunit 2) from a total of 115 f...

The diverse Old World avian family Ploceidae (weaverbirds) presently comprises 117 species in 17 genera. Despite being a well-known bird group, the family has received incomplete attention in terms of molecular systematics; systematists have often focused on subclades, with the most extensive study to date covering <66% of recognized species. As a...

In this study, we address the evolutionary relationships and discuss the biogeographical history of a complex and diverse group of ovenbirds, the Thripophagini. We reconstruct the phylogeny and estimate the time of divergence of this group, using sequences from two complete mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and NADH subunit 2) from a total of 115 f...

During the Pleistocene glacial periods, the ranges of many temperate species in Europe contracted southwards to ref-ugia near the Mediterranean Basin. This study tested the 'expansion-contraction' model by applying the ecological niche modelling approach to one widespread temperate tree species, pedunculate oak, Quercus robur L., distributed across...

During the Pleistocene glacial periods, the ranges of many temperate species in Europe contracted southwards to refugia near the Mediterranean Basin. This study tested the 'expansion-contraction' model by applying the ecological niche modelling approach to one widespread temperate tree species, pedunculate oak, Quercus robur L., distributed across...

Understanding how species have responded to strong climatic fluctuations accompanying glacial-interglacial cycles is critical to predicting their likely responses to future climate change, and therefore can help guide conservation strategies. Using molecular phylogeography and ecological niche modelling, we aimed to understand how a newly recognize...

In this study we explore the phylogenetic relationships within the hummingbird genera Doryfera, Schistes and Colibri (Family Trochilidae), distributed in the Andes, the Pantepui, the southern Brazilian uplands and the lowlands of South America including the Chocó, the Amazon Basin, the Chaco, the Cerrado, and the southeastern Brazilian coast, as we...

Anadolu'da kuşlar üzerine yapılan ilk gözlemler 1830'lu yıllarda başlamış ol-masına karşın (Kumerloeve 1986), bu gözlemler geride bıraktığımız 60 yıl içinde yaygınlaşmış ve o zamandan bugüne birçok tür listesi yayımlanmıştır (Ergene 1945

Bir bilim dalının tanımını yapmak bazen zor olabilir. Hele ki farklı bilim dal-larından da girdi sağlanıyorsa anlaşılabilir bir tanım ortaya koyabilmek artık yazılı ifadenin gücüne kalır. Multidisipliner bir alan olan filocoğrafya da farklı tanımlarla açıklanabilecek böylesi bir bilim dalı. Mikro ve makro evrimsel 1 bilim dallarından girdi almaya i...

Leishmania (L.) infantum is the causative agent in an endemic focus of canine leishmaniasis in the Mont-Rolland district (Thiès, Senegal). In this area, the transmission cycle is well established and more than 30% of dogs and 20% of humans are seropositive for L. infantum. However, the sand fly species involved in L. infantum transmission cycle are...

Results of logistic regression of the proportion of captures from a given species on the environment type. Only the Sergentomyia species were studied, the Phlebotomus captures being too rare. The “Isolated” environment was taken as the baseline. The effect of the environment is measured in terms of odds-ratio (OR) for the proportion of captures of...

Representative results of the nested PCR-based identification of Leishmania strains isolated from female sand flies. A) Reference strains: 1 = negative control, 2 = Leishmania infantum (ITMAP 263), 3 = L. major (5ASKH), 4 = L. tropica (K27), 5 = L. tarentolae. B) 1 = L. infantum (ITMAP 263), 2 = Sergentomyia dubia female infected by L. tarentolae,...

The late Quaternary climatic oscillations have always been an important actor for genetic differentiation within species. These differentiation patterns can be informative to understand species’ historical demographic structure. There are a number of studies showing that many species distributed in the temperate zone have experienced range expansio...

In this study, we re-evaluated historical demography of the Eurasian green woodpecker (Picus viridis) on the basis of previously published multi-locus mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data and ecological niche modelling. We particularly aimed to test glacial refugia hypothesis during climatic oscillations of the late Quaternary for the Eurasian green wood...

Present-day distribution patterns of many species have been affected by rapid climatic oscillations. The climatic conditions of Late Quaternary have caused range expansion and restrictions for many species. To understand how species have responded to these conditions is important in terms of their biogeographical history. There have been three well...

Global climate oscillations through the Quaternary glacial–interglacial cycles have had significant impacts on the geographic distribution and genetic structure of bird species. The effects of these climatic fluctuations have been well documented by numerous different phylogeographic studies. In this study, we would like to test whether multiple re...

Capsule This study is the first ever documented evidence of an interglacial refugium during the Last Interglacial for birds in Anatolia and suggests the need of a re-examination of the effects of the Last Interglacial on the geographic distribution and genetic structure of species. Aims We tested whether, in accordance with the ‘refugia within refu...

Black-capped Siskin Spinus atriceps and the southernmost form of Pine Siskin S. pinus perplexus have long been confused. We outline the taxonomic history of the complex and present a review of morphological characters based on the largest series yet assembled. Olive-morph birds are morphologically distinctive and are correctly associated with the n...

Ecological and Historical Biogeography of Yellow-necked Field Mice living in and around Anatolia Using Ecological Niche Modelling and Molecular Phylogeography

PERKTAŞ U., QUINTERO E., GÜR H. 2013. Once upon a time in Anatolia: Population history of Anatolian nuthatch. In Conference program and abstracts. International Biogeography Society 6th Biennial Meeting – 9-13 January 2013, Miami, Florida, USA (ed. by J. Hortal, K. Faller, K. Feeley, R. Field, C. Graham, F. Guilhaumon and D. Gavin), frontiers of bi...

Capsule Significant geographic variation in body size occurs throughout Eurasia and North Africa and this variation is best explained by Boyce's seasonality hypothesis rather than Bergmann's rule.Aims To investigate whether any of the four general ecogeographical hypotheses that have been used to explain geographic variation in the body size of bir...

The common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is one of the most common and widespread of the Western Palearctic songbirds and breeds primarily in natural forests in the northern, western, and southwestern parts of Turkey. We reevaluated the distribution of this species in Turkey with recent observational data. Although this species has been considered...

This study was conducted in Nallιhan Bird Paradise (Nallιhan, Ankara), which displays seasonal wetland characteristics. Within the scope of this study, a 12 month field study between August 2000 and July 2001 was carried out in order to determine the avifauna of Nallιhan Bird Paradise. One hundred and thirty bird species belonging to 14 orders and...

This paper presents the results of waterfowl population surveys carried out in five areas in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey between 1998 and 2001. Turkey contains a significant number of wetlands important on a continental scale within Europe. Although these wetlands are known to be important for breeding and wintering waterfowl populations,...

The size of shrike populations in Turkey is still unknown with respect to the European Threat Status. All breeding species of shrikes in Turkey - the Red-Backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Lesser Grey Shrike (L. minor), Woodchat Shrike (L. senator), and Masked Shrike (L. nubicus) - are subject to habitat loss in their European distribution. Habitat l...