Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Carlsen, Monica [1], Belmont, Erika [2], Croat, Thomas [3].

Patterns of morphological and ecological diversification in the genus Anthurium (Araceae).

The genus Anthurium (Araceae) comprises ca. 1,000 Neotropical species, distributed from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. The most recent molecular phylogeny, based on chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences of 102 Anthurium species and outgroups, distinguished 18 major clades within the genus. Of the clades recovered, eight are geographically restricted (e.g. Caribbean, Brazil, northern Central America, Andes) and the rest are widespread within Central and South America. The main goal of this study is to understand the patterns of morphological and ecological (i.e. climatic niche) diversification during the evolutionary history of the genus Anthurium. Species occurrences and climatic variables were combined in MaxEnt to create species distribution models in order to obtain estimates of geographic extent, and amount of climatic niche overlap between clades. DNA sequences and Bayesian phylogenetic trees were used to obtain genetic and phylogenetic distances among clades. And, a morphological matrix of 97 characters per species was used to obtain estimates of morphological dissimilarity based on Eucledian distances. In general, geographic extent, morphological differentiation, and climatic niche variation are not correlated with species richness per clade. Instead, climatic niche diversity and morphological diversification are decoupled within Anthurium. So that, species that belong to clades that have restricted distributions have more similar climatic niche preferences but are more dissimilar morphologically, in comparison with species belonging to widely distributed clades. Therefore, diversification in Anthurium follows a pattern of climatic niche OR morphological “conservatism”, depending on the geographic extent of the clade in question. Interestingly, phylogenetic structure at the subgeneric level (i.e. among major clades) does not seem to play an important role in shaping climatic and morphological constraints within Anthurium.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Missouri Botanical Garden, PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO, 63166, USA
2 - Washington University, Department of Biology, St. Louis, MO, USA
3 - Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO, 63166, USA

Keywords:
Anthurium
Araceae
diversification
Neotropics
ecological niche
climatic niche
species distribution models
ecological differentiation
morphological differentiation
Genetic distances
phylogenetic distances.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 11
Location: Magnolia/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: 11001
Abstract ID:311
Candidate for Awards:George R. Cooley Award