Abstract Detail

Macroevolution

Ottenlips, Michael [1], Feist, Mary Ann [2], Mansfield, Don [3], Plunkett, Gregory [4], Smith, James [5].

Convergent evolution among three alpine endemic Lomatium (Apiaceae).

: Convergent evolution is the independent origin of similar phenotypes in response to shared environmental pressures, limitations in organismal design, or a combination of both factors. Convergence is especially common in alpine plants due to the limited number of adaptations available in a plants’ body design that are able to survive the extreme selective pressures there. Alpine environments harbor a unique biodiversity of relictual genotypes and lineages. Due to the highly specialized adaptations of alpine plants and the vulnerability of their environment to warming, these species are especially prone to extinction due to climate change. Understanding evolutionary relationships is a key first step towards conservation of alpine plants to help preserve their unique adaptations, genotypes, and lineages. Lomatium (Apiaceae) is a large genus in the Western North America and as traditionally defined is paraphyletic, riddled with numerous cases of convergence occasionally in characters previously thought to be diagnostic. Three Lomatium species (Lomatium greenmanii, Lomatium erythrocarpum, and Lomatium oreganum) are endemic to two isolated mountain ranges in eastern Oregon, the Wallowa and Elkhorn Mountains. Previous studies have suggested that Lomatium oreganum and Lomatium greenmanii are sister taxa with shared ancestry resulting in their morphological and environmental niche similarities. Using molecular (five plastid loci and two nuclear ribosomal) and environmental (BIOCLIM variables) data sources, this study aims to investigate evolutionarily relationships between these alpine-adapted species to determine if their similarities are the result of convergent evolution or shared ancestry. These three alpine Lomatium species endemic to alpine habitats of northeastern Oregon are included in a phylogeny which includes ~200 samples representing ~70 taxa in the larger clade (PENA) in which Lomatium are members. Each alpine endemic occupies a different phylogenetic position and shares a similar environmental niche indicating that convergent evolution, not shared ancestry is responsible for the shared morphologies of these three species. Increased conservation measures are urged for these plants and their habitat because each species represents a unique alpine adapted lineage signifying that the phylogenetic diversity of the Wallowa and Elkhorn Mountains is higher than originally hypothesized.

1 - Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Ms1515, Boise, ID, 83725, United States
2 - University Of Wisconsin/ Wisconsin State Herbarium, Botany, 430 Lincoln Dr., Birge Hall, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
3 - College of Idaho, 2112 Cleveland Blvd, Cadwell, ID, 83605, United States
4 - New York Botanical Garden, Cullman Program For Molecular Systematics, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458, United States
5 - BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY, Department Of Biological Sciences, 1910 University Drive, Ms1515, Boise, ID, 83725, United States

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Macroevolution Posters
Location: Arizona Ballroom/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 5:30 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PMC001
Abstract ID:514
Candidate for Awards:None