No abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . University of California Press and Cooper Ornithological Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Condor. Abstract. The Poo-uli (Melamprosops phaeosoma), discovered on Maui in 1973, was originally believed to be a Hawaiian honeycreeper (Drepanidinae). Doubts as to the validity of this classification prompted an investigation of the defining characters of the subfamily and the possible position of M. phaeosoma within it. The Drepanidinae are monophyletic with a suite of certain and possible synapomorphies that cluster the group, but Melamprosops lacks all of these characters. Hawaiian honeycreepers have a distinctive odor which the Poouli lacks. Its tongue has prominent rearward projections whereas drepanidine tongues lack "lingual wings." Most drepanidines lack the usual passerine predator-response behaviors but M. phaeosoma exhibits them. Vocalizations of the Poo-uli do not resemble those of any of the three vocal groupings of Hawaiian honeycreepers. The color pattern of M. phaeosoma is unique among native Hawaiian birds. Phenotypic characters thus provide no basis for inclusion of Melamprosops in the Drepanidinae; its relationships are unknown.

Natural selection plays a fundamental role in the ecological theory of adaptive radiation. A prediction of this theory is the convergent evolution of traits in lineages experiencing similar environments. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are a spectacular example of adaptive radiation and may demonstrate convergence, but uncertainty about phylogenetic relationships within the group has made it difficult to assess such evolutionary patterns. We examine the phylogenetic relationships of the Hawaii creeper (Oreomystis mana), a bird that in a suite of morphological, ecological and behavioural traits closely resembles the Kauai creeper (Oreomystis bairdi ), but whose mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and osteology suggest a relationship with the amakihis (Hemignathus in part) and akepas (Loxops). We analysed nuclear DNA sequence data from 11 relevant honeycreeper taxa and one outgroup to test whether the character contradiction results from historical hybridization and mtDNA introgression, or convergent evolution. We found no evidence of past hybridization, a phenomenon that remains undocumented in Hawaiian honeycreepers, and confirmed mtDNA and osteological evidence that the Hawaii creeper is most closely related to the amakihis and akepas. Thus, the morphological, ecological and behavioural similarities between the evolutionarily distant Hawaii and Kauai creepers represent an extreme example of convergent evolution and demonstrate how natural selection can lead to repeatable evolutionary outcomes.

A group of small, insectivorous, straight-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers once regarded as forms of a single species Loxops maculata are actually five species that comprise two genera that are not closely related to any others in the subfamily or to each other. The two genera differ in color patterns, plumages, presence of nasal setae, wing/tail proportions, foraging behavior, diet, vocalizations, nest construction, odor, predator-response behavior, tongue morphology, and cranial features. In all respects wherein the Drepanidinae differ from other passerines, Oreornystis has the characteristics of the subfamily but Paroreomyza does not. Its placement among the Hawaiian honeycreepers is uncertain. Oreomystis includes two species, the Hawaii Creeper 0. mana of Hawaii and the Akikiki 0. bairdi of Kauai. Paroreomyza has three species: the Oahu Alauahio P. maculata, the Kakawahie P. jlammea of Molokai, and the Maui Alauahio P. montana with subspecies on Lanai (P. m. montana) and Maui (P. m. newtoni). The English epithet "creeper" should no longer be used for members of Puroreomyza.