Shared developmental programme strongly constrains beak shape diversity in songbirds
Fritz JA, Brancale J, Tokita M, Burns KJ, Hawkins MB, Abzhanov A, Brenner MP. Shared developmental programme strongly constrains beak shape diversity in songbirds. Nature Communications 2014, 5: 3700. PMID: 24739280, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4700.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDevelopmental programBeak shapeGrowth zoneNatural selectionBeak developmentStriking diversityDevelopmental mechanismsShape diversityBird's beak shapeCell proliferationZebra finchesDiversityDiverse groupModel systemSongbirdsComparative morphometric analysisSuch variationPhylogenyObserved variationRelative importanceMorphometric analysisFinchesBeakProliferationShape variability