Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot
Several studies have demonstrated the contribution of northern immigrants to the flora of the tropical Andes—the world’s richest and most diverse biodiversity hotspot. However, much less is known about the biogeographic history and diversification of Andean groups with southern origins, although it...
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doaj-b958af193e174f478898eead0b3b39e62020-11-25T00:35:47ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-03-016e438810.7717/peerj.4388Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspotChristine D. Bacon0Francisco J. Velásquez-Puentes1Luis Felipe Hinojosa2Thomas Schwartz3Bengt Oxelman4Bernard Pfeil5Mary T.K. Arroyo6Livia Wanntorp7Alexandre Antonelli8Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenLaboratório de Biología Molecular (CINBIN), Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, ColombiaInstitute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, ChileDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenInstitute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, ChileDepartment of Phanerogamic Botany, Swedish Museum for Natural History, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenSeveral studies have demonstrated the contribution of northern immigrants to the flora of the tropical Andes—the world’s richest and most diverse biodiversity hotspot. However, much less is known about the biogeographic history and diversification of Andean groups with southern origins, although it has been suggested that northern and southern groups have contributed roughly equally to the high Andean (i.e., páramo) flora. Here we infer the evolutionary history of the southern hemisphere plant genus Gunnera, a lineage with a rich fossil history and an important ecological role as an early colonising species characteristic of wet, montane environments. Our results show striking contrasts in species diversification, where some species may have persisted for some 90 million years, and whereas others date to less than 2 Ma since origination. The outstanding longevity of the group is likely linked to a high degree of niche conservatism across its highly disjunct range, whereby Gunnera tracks damp and boggy soils in cool habitats. Colonisation of the northern Andes is related to Quaternary climate change, with subsequent rapid diversification appearing to be driven by their ability to take advantage of environmental opportunities. This study demonstrates the composite origin of a mega-diverse biota.https://peerj.com/articles/4388.pdfDiversificationClimate changeBiogeographyNeotropicsGondwanaSpecies longevity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Christine D. Bacon Francisco J. Velásquez-Puentes Luis Felipe Hinojosa Thomas Schwartz Bengt Oxelman Bernard Pfeil Mary T.K. Arroyo Livia Wanntorp Alexandre Antonelli |
spellingShingle |
Christine D. Bacon Francisco J. Velásquez-Puentes Luis Felipe Hinojosa Thomas Schwartz Bengt Oxelman Bernard Pfeil Mary T.K. Arroyo Livia Wanntorp Alexandre Antonelli Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot PeerJ Diversification Climate change Biogeography Neotropics Gondwana Species longevity |
author_facet |
Christine D. Bacon Francisco J. Velásquez-Puentes Luis Felipe Hinojosa Thomas Schwartz Bengt Oxelman Bernard Pfeil Mary T.K. Arroyo Livia Wanntorp Alexandre Antonelli |
author_sort |
Christine D. Bacon |
title |
Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot |
title_short |
Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot |
title_full |
Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot |
title_fullStr |
Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evolutionary persistence in Gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot |
title_sort |
evolutionary persistence in gunnera and the contribution of southern plant groups to the tropical andes biodiversity hotspot |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
series |
PeerJ |
issn |
2167-8359 |
publishDate |
2018-03-01 |
description |
Several studies have demonstrated the contribution of northern immigrants to the flora of the tropical Andes—the world’s richest and most diverse biodiversity hotspot. However, much less is known about the biogeographic history and diversification of Andean groups with southern origins, although it has been suggested that northern and southern groups have contributed roughly equally to the high Andean (i.e., páramo) flora. Here we infer the evolutionary history of the southern hemisphere plant genus Gunnera, a lineage with a rich fossil history and an important ecological role as an early colonising species characteristic of wet, montane environments. Our results show striking contrasts in species diversification, where some species may have persisted for some 90 million years, and whereas others date to less than 2 Ma since origination. The outstanding longevity of the group is likely linked to a high degree of niche conservatism across its highly disjunct range, whereby Gunnera tracks damp and boggy soils in cool habitats. Colonisation of the northern Andes is related to Quaternary climate change, with subsequent rapid diversification appearing to be driven by their ability to take advantage of environmental opportunities. This study demonstrates the composite origin of a mega-diverse biota. |
topic |
Diversification Climate change Biogeography Neotropics Gondwana Species longevity |
url |
https://peerj.com/articles/4388.pdf |
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