Abstract Detail

Biogeography

Donoghue, Michael [1], Eaton, Deren [2], Maya-Lastra, Carlos [3], Landis, Michael [4], Sweeney, Patrick [5], Olson, Mark [6], Cacho, N. Ivalu [6], Moeglein, Morgan [7], Gardner, Jordan [8], Heaphy, Nora [8], Castorena, Matiss [9], Segovia Rivas, Ali [6], Clement, Wendy [10], Edwards, Erika [8].

Replicated radiation of a plant clade along a cloud forest archipelago.

Replicated radiations, in which sets of similar forms evolve repeatedly within different regions, can provide powerful insights into parallel evolution and the assembly of functional diversity within communities. Several cases have been described in animals, including in Anolis lizards in the Caribbean, cichlid fishes in African rift lakes, and spiders in Hawaii. In plants, however, we lack well-documented cases of replicated radiation that combine (1) comprehensive phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses, (2) the delimitation of geographic areas within which a set of “ecomorphs” evolved independently, and (3) the identification of potential underlying mechanisms. Here we document the repeated evolution of a set of leaf ecomorphs in a group of neotropical plants. The Oreinotinus lineage within the angiosperm clade Viburnum spread from Mexico to Argentina through disjunct cloud forest environments. In nine of eleven areas of endemism, species with similar sets of leaf forms evolved in parallel. We reject gene flow-mediated evolution of similar leaves, and show, instead, that species with disparate leaf forms differ in their climatic niches, supporting ecological adaptation as the driver of parallelism. Our identification of a case of replicated radiation in plants sets the stage for comparative analyses of such phenomena across the tree of life.

1 - Yale University, Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, 21 Sachem St., New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
2 - Columbia University, Ecology, Evolution, And Environmental Biology, 1200 Amsterdam Ave. , Schermerhorn Ext. Office 1007, New York, NY, 10027, United States
3 - Columbia University, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology, New York, NY, 10027, USA
4 - Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Biology, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
5 - Yale Pebody Museum Of Natural History, Division Of Botany, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
6 - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Ciudad de México, 04510, Mexico
7 - Harvard University , Organismic and Evolutionary Biology , Arnold Arboretum , Jamaica Plain , MA, 02130, USA
8 - Yale University , Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, PO Box 208106, New Haven , CT, 06520, USA
9 - University of Arizona, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tucson , AZ, 85719, USA
10 - The College Of New Jersey, Biology, 2000 Pennington Road, Department Of Biology, Ewing, NJ, 08628, United States

Keywords:
evolutionary radiation
biogeography
leaf
molecular phylogenetics.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: BIOG II001
Abstract ID:526
Candidate for Awards:None