Abstract Detail

Systematics

Hastings, Cara [1], Bornstein, Allan [2], Davidson, Christopher [3], Smith, James (Jim) [4].

Cladistic Analysis of Piper clade Enckea (Piperaceae).

Clade Enckea sensu lato, is one of the smaller Neotropical clades within the genus Piper. Estimates of the number of species within the clade range from 50 to over 100 and taxonomic inflation within the clade, mostly due to synonymy, is suspected to be relatively common. Previous molecular analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction recovered around 20 species within a monophyletic clade Enckea, but the sampling was not comprehensive and designation of species to clade Enckea is still largely based on morphology. High throughput targeted sequencing of hundreds of loci has allowed researchers to aquire better insight to phylogenetic processes and gain confidence in previously ambiguous relationships. For this study, the Angiosperms353 bait set was used to retrieve nuclear genes from nearly 120 accessions representing approximately 50 taxonomic entities attributed to Enckea. The nuclear data were used for building maximum likelihood and multispecies coalescent phylogenetic models and to evaluate the species boundaries within the clade. Use of the targeted sequencing data in phylogenetic reconstruction should lead to a better understanding of the relationships between species in the clade, of where species boundaries within the clade should be drawn and determine if the morphological basis for clade Enckea is accurate.

1 - Boise State University, Biology, 1910 University Drive, Mail Stop: 1515, Boise, ID, 83725, United States
2 -
3 - Flora of the World
4 - Dept. Of Biological Sciences, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, United States

Keywords:
Neotropics
Piper
cladistic analysis
systematics
Taxonomy 
species delimitation
Angiosperms353.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: COOLEY001
Abstract ID:243
Candidate for Awards:George R. Cooley Award