Abstract Detail

Systematics

Ortiz, Edgardo M. [1], Simpson, Beryl [2].

Biogeography of the Andean Vaccinieae with emphasis on the genera Demosthenesia, Pellegrinia and Siphonandra.

The blueberry tribe, Vaccinieae, constitute a morphologically distinct monophyletic group within the family Ericaceae, being its only group with inferior ovaries. Vaccinieae counts a total of ca. 1760 species and 33 genera distributed in five major lineages. Among these clades, the Neotropical clade (with a Caribbean-Mesoamerican and an Andean subclades) is the largest and contains 640 species in 29 genera. Previous historical biogeographical analyses of the Neotropical clade of Vaccinieae suggest that its primary source is the Tropical Andes region with subsequent introduction into Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. It has been suggested also that the main diversification period for the clade must coincide with the raise of Andes during the mid-Miocene, hypothesis yet to be tested using time-calibrated phylogenetic analysis. Demosthenesia A.C. Smith, Pellegrinia Sleumer, and Siphonandra Klotzsch (Vaccinieae: Vaccinioideae: Ericaceae) are three small genera of facultatively epiphytic shrubs that contain twelve, four and five species respectively. These species inhabit high-elevation cloud forest (ca. 2500-3500 masl) along the eastern slopes of the Andes of Peru and Bolivia and their evolutionary relationships and biogeographical patterns have not been assessed by any previous phylogenetic study. A molecular phylogeny of the Neotropical clade of Vaccinieae was produced using available published sequences of the chloroplast markers rbcL and matK and accessions newly sequenced for this study, mainly belonging to these three small genera. The phylogeny was time-calibrated using fossils and secondary calibration points and a BAMM analysis of shifts in diversification rates was performed. The timing of the main diversification events in the tribe and the rates at which these occurred are discussed in association with past geological and climatic events in the Tropical Andes

1 - The University of Texas at Austin, Section of Integrative Biology, Plant Resources Center, 205 W 24th St, Mail Stop C0930, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
2 - University Of Texas, Section Of Integrative Biology, 205 W 24th St, Mail Stop C0930, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

Keywords:
Ericaceae
Vaccinieae
Andes
BAMM
Biogeography
phylogenetics
Molecular dating.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 31, Cooley Awards II
Location: 201/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 4:00 PM
Number: 31010
Abstract ID:803
Candidate for Awards:George R. Cooley Award