Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma - A case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Paridae, Poecile).

A recent full species-level phylogeny of tits, titmice and chickadees (Paridae) has placed the Chinese endemic black-bibbed tit (Poecile hypermelaenus) as the sister to the Palearctic willow tit (P. montanus). Because this sister-group relationship is in striking disagreement with the traditional affiliation of P. hypermelaenus close to the marsh tit (P. palustris) we tested this phylogenetic hypothesis in a multi-locus analysis with an extended taxon sampling including sixteen subspecies of willow tits and marsh tits. As a taxonomic reference we included type specimens in our analysis. The molecular genetic study was complemented with an analysis of biometric data obtained from museum specimens. Our phylogenetic reconstructions, including a comparison of all GenBank data available for our target species, clearly show that the genetic lineage previously identified as P. hypermelaenus actually refers to P. weigoldicus because sequences were identical to that of a syntype of this taxon. The close relationship of P. weigoldicus and P. montanus - despite large genetic distances between the two taxa - is in accordance with current taxonomy and systematics. In disagreement with the previous phylogenetic hypothesis but in accordance with most taxonomic authorities, all our P. hypermelaenus specimens fell in the sister clade of all western and eastern Palearctic P. palustris. Though shared haplotypes among the Chinese populations of the two latter species might indicate mitochondrial introgression in this part of the breeding range, further research is needed here due to the limitations of our own sampling.

Infestation of a novel host plant by Tephritis conura (Diptera: Tephritidae) in northern Britain: host-range expansion or host shift?

The addition of a novel host plant to a phytophagous insect's diet may result in subsequent host-plant specialisation, and is believed to be a key cause for speciation in this trophic group. In northern Britain, the tephritid fly Tephritis conura has experienced a unique host-plant expansion, from the melancholy thistle Cirsium heterophyllum to the marsh thistle C. palustre. Here, we examine whether the incorporation of C. palustre in the repertoire of British T. conura flies has caused genetic divergence between populations infesting the old host and the novel host, and how British populations differ from populations infesting C. heterophyllum in continental Europe where C. palustre is not infested. No evidence for restricted gene flow among British C. palustre and C. heterophyllum flies was found. Significant differentiation between British and continental T. conura was found at only one allozyme locus, hexokinase, and caused by a new allele, Hex_95. Hexokinase is related to host-race formation in continental European flies infesting C. heterophyllum and C. oleraceum, and might be linked to loci determining host choice. Based on morphological and phenological data from previous studies, we suggest that T. conura in Britain has adapted to the novel host but that host-race formation is impeded by similar plant phenologies.