Abstract Detail

Ecology

Jantzen, Johanna [1], Whitten, W. Mark [2], Neubig, Kurt Maximillian [3], Majure, Lucas C. [4], Soltis, Pamela  S. [2], Soltis, Douglas [1].

The effects of taxonomic and spatial scale on measures of phylogenetic diversity using a test case in Florida.

The phylogenetic diversity in a community is often used to draw inferences about the local and historical factors affecting community assembly. Because measures of phylogenetic diversity (PD) are based on the topology and branch lengths of phylogenetic trees, these analyses are sensitive to changes in both taxonomic and spatial scale, which can alter or reverse the observed patterns. Branch lengths and topology are affected by the number and diversity of taxa included on the tree (taxonomic scale). The number of taxa from the tree that are included in PD analysis for a given community, based on how broadly circumscribed the community is, will also affect the measure of PD (spatial scale). To test the effect of taxonomic and spatial scale on measures of PD, we used barcoding sequences (rbcL and matK) from 572 taxa collected from the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station (OSBS), University of Florida, representing approximately 95% of the estimated 600 species of vascular plants found at the site, to construct a community-level phylogeny for the OSBS. We took random subsamples of 300 taxa from this dataset, constructed phylogenies for each subset of taxa, and calculated PD indices for each of these trees to determine the effect of taxonomic scale on these measures of diversity. To determine the effect of spatial scale on these analyses, for the complete taxon dataset, we calculated PD for 14 individual communities within the OSBS relative to the overall OSBS site, and for the OSBS site relative to the flora of the region. We used these comparisons to determine the effect of both taxonomic and spatial scale on PD. This study will inform taxon sampling for future community phylogenetic studies and allow for more accurate interpretation of results from these types of studies.

1 - University of Florida, Dept. of Biology, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
2 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, PO BOX 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7800, USA, 352/273-1964
3 - Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Plant Biology, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA
4 - Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ, 85008, USA

Keywords:
phylogenetic community structure.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 6, Ecology Section: Population Biology
Location: 201/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Time: 9:30 AM
Number: 6005
Abstract ID:397
Candidate for Awards:Ecological Section Best Graduate Student Paper