A groundbreaking study has produced the most complete evolutionary tree of birds ever assembled. Researchers combined decades of genetic and ecological data to trace how every known bird species is connected.
The study, led by Professor Emily Jane McTavish at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, gathered data on 9,239 bird species from nearly 300 published studies. This resulted in a single, unified evolutionary tree that can be updated and shared.
"People love birds, and a lot of people work on birds," McTavish said. "We synthesized all the data to have unified information all in one place." The team noted that this synthesis tree has the potential to support a wide range of research projects.
The idea for this undertaking took shape about four years ago. Eliot Miller, then at the Cornell Lab, proposed the project to McTavish. McTavish had been involved with software development for the Open Tree of Life (OpenTree) project.
"Many dozens of bird phylogenies (studies of evolutionary histories using genetics) get published every year," Miller said. "Our project should help to close this research loop so that these studies and their findings are better incorporated into follow-up research."
The OpenTree project aims to construct an accurate and comprehensive evolutionary tree. It functions like a wiki, where users can upload data to update relationships between species. Today, the Open Tree of Life includes over 2.5 million species.
The creation of this bird evolutionary tree provides a practical framework for other scientists. Researchers can better explore patterns of adaptation, speciation, and ecological interaction. The methods developed can be applied to other life forms.
By building tools that automatically update as new data emerges, the OpenTree project ensures researchers can work with the most current knowledge. This dynamic map of life's connections has the potential to reshape how we understand evolution and biodiversity.