Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds
The authors identify a problem to the effect that authors such as Feduccia who wrote on avian origins and the biology of Mesozoic birds did not explain their affinities accurately. As such, this left a gap which needed to be filled in order to explain evolution exhaustively.
In order to close this gap, the authors adopted an appropriate method of analysis which sought to integrate and summarize the vast findings with regards to this evolution. The book analyzes the evolutions of birds from the feared dinosaur akin to the friendlier Velociraptor. In order to make organized conclusions, the author further used modern fossils findings that have been made in the near past.
As part of the results and conclusions, the book emphasizes two researched issues. First, it indicates that there is strong reliance on the ideologies of cladistics which seeks to group animals according to the similarities they share. Second, it emphasizes the idea that birds essentially originated from the dinosaurs. In addition to this, it discusses the Mesozoic birds in a pretty comprehensive manner. In this case, it indicates that the time of geology, the development of reptiles and the diverse nature of the non-avian dinosaurs are crucial to evolution. The author then indicates that there is a linkage between the birds and the theropods of the maniraptoran origin a clear and comprehensive manner. In this pursuit, the book collects use information from the recently discovered fossils of the Cretaceous nature from Mongolia and Province of Liaoning.
Phylogenetics of Darwin’s Finches: Paraphyly in the Tree-Finches, and Two Divergent Lineages in the Warbler Finch
The research problem that inspired this study was based on that the differences between the round, warbler and tree finches have not been clearly identified. Additionally, the authors noted that knowledge about the relationships of these types of finches is little. In their research, it was noted that the existence of the limited knowledge is caused by the deficiency of phylogeny which reflects the original Darwin’s molecular structure.
In order to solve this problem, the researchers adopted a method of analysis using a mitochondrial sequence in order to obtain a phylogeny of these finches as explained by Darwin. In order to come up with the phylogeny of the three groups, the researchers constructed an integration of 16S r-RNA. These were collected and derived from the control regions of the three finches including the warbler, the tree and the ground types. In order to diversify the specimens, the research included an addition of two other types from the mainland namely the Bananaquit and Grassquit which are essentially found as the out-groups in the research. Indeed, they were used because they are closely associated with the Geospizines. In order to develop the second phylogeny, the researchers amplified a sequence of regions of control for warbler and round finches.
After the research study, the authors discovered that the there is only a single monophyletic gene in the tree finches. When it comes to the warbler finch, it is evident that the genes are paraphyletic because the genes indicated the existence of diverging lineages.
Greenwillow
The authors noted an existing problem based on the fact that birds come in different sizes shapes and colors but little research was conducted to study the diversity. Additionally, although birds are found everywhere, there was very little concern about their environmental affinities and behaviors which determined their habitats.
With regards to the methodology of writing this book, the authors observed different birds from a scientific point of view in order to learn their behaviors and appearances. Importantly, though, they complement the scientific perspective with making observations from a child’s point of view. In one of the most interesting description of the authors, they create a virtual scenario of a girl thinking of how it would appear if bird left a trail of colors in the sky. In addition to this, the authors have used the methodology to present the findings of the scientific analysis. For example, in one of the scenarios, he described a group of birds that were hanging on the telephone wire. Just below the description, the authors present an image of seven birds which hanging from a telephone wire.
Regarding the conclusions made, the book indicates that there is vast diversity when it comes to the present birds’ species. In that light, it also provides a connection between the present species and the evolution of the bird from the ancient ages. Importantly, it indicates that no matter the environment in which one lives, it is very easy and possible to hear the sounds of birds around.
References
Henkes, Kevin, and Laura Dronzek. Birds. New York: Greenwillow, 2009. Print.
Freeland, Joanna, and Peter Boag. “Phylogenetics of Darwin’s Finches: Paraphyly in the Tree-Finches, and Two Divergent Lineages in the Warbler Finch.”The Auk 23.2 (2010): 577-88. Print.
Chiappe, Luis M. Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2007. Print.