Abstract Detail

Plant Research and Conservation on the Andes

Lagomarsino, Laura [1], Condamine, Fabien [2], Antonelli, Alexandre [3], Mulch, Andreas [4], Davis, Charles C. [5].

The abiotic and biotic drivers of rapid diversification in Andean lobelioids (Campanulaceae).

The tropical Andes of South America, the world’s richest biodiversity hotspot, are home to many rapid radiations. While geological, climatic, and ecological processes collectively explain such radiations, their relative contributions are seldom examined within a single clade. I explore the contribution of these factors by applying a series of diversification models that incorporate mountain building, climate change, and trait evolution to the first dated phylogeny of Andean bellflowers (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae). My framework is novel for its direct incorporation of geological data on Andean uplift into a macroevolutionary model. I show that speciation and extinction are differentially influenced by abiotic factors: speciation rates rose concurrently with Andean elevation, while extinction rates decreased during global cooling. Pollination syndrome and fruit type, both biotic traits known to facilitate mutualisms, played an additional role in diversification. These abiotic and biotic factors resulted in one of the fastest radiations reported to date: the centropogonids, whose 550 species arose in the last 5 Myr. This study represents a significant advance in our understanding of plant evolution in Andean cloud forests. It further highlights the power of combining phylogenetic and Earth science models to explore the interplay of geology, climate, and ecology in generating the world’s biodiversity.

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Published paper

1 - University of Missouri- St. Louis, Department of Biology, St. Louis, MO, USA
2 - French National Centre for Scientific Research, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université de Montpelier, Montpelier, France
3 - University of Gothenburg, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Göteborg, Sweden
4 - Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
5 - Harvard University, 22 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States

Keywords:
Lobelioideae
rapid diversification
Andean mountains
vertebrate pollination
macroevolution
biodiversity hotspot.

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY06, Plant Research and Conservation on the Andes
Location: Chatham Ballroom - C/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 9:15 AM
Number: SY06004
Abstract ID:936
Candidate for Awards:None