Abstract Detail

Macroevolution

Testo, Weston [1], Sundue, Michael A [1], Barrington, David [1].

Polyploidy does not influence rates of diversification across the fern phylogeny.

Polyploidy is widespread in the plant kingdom and is a major focus of evolutionary studies in many plant groups. The evolutionary significance of polyploidy and its role in species diversification have been subjects of extensive debate in the literature, and some recent studies have suggested that the phenomenon is an important driver of diversification, while others have suggested that polyploids actually experience lower rates of diversification than their diploid counterparts. Using new comparative phylogenetic approaches, we examined the relationship between ploidy level and diversification rate in the ferns, the second largest group of vascular land plants and the most polyploid-rich lineage of plants on Earth. Analyzing a time-calibrated phylogeny including nearly 4,000 species of ferns and a ploidy dataset comprising more than 1,700 species, we were able to test hypotheses about the relationships of ploidy with patterns of speciation, extinction, and net diversification rates across the fern phylogeny. We find no evidence of an impact of polyploidy on rates of species diversification in our dataset, in contrast with other recent studies. These results are discussed in the context of the evolutionary history of ferns as a whole, and implications for the study of other groups are presented.

1 - University of Vermont, Plant Biology, Pringle Herbarium, 27 Colchester Drive, Burlington, VT, 05405, United States

Keywords:
fern
evolution
polyploidy
phylogeny
diversity
BAMM.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 10, Macroevolution
Location: 202/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Time: 4:45 PM
Number: 10013
Abstract ID:894
Candidate for Awards:None