Abstract Detail

Macroevolution

de Souza Cortez, Maria Beatriz [1], Guralnick, Robert [1], Barve, Vijay [3], Earl, Chandra [1], Soltis, Douglas [1], Soltis, Pamela [1].

The hyperdiverse campos rupestres revealed through macroevolutionary patterns of plant lineages.

Recent advances in bioinformatics, improvements in computational performance, and creation of public data repositories have facilitated phylogenetic analyses of large datasets, enabling inclusion of high numbers of taxa and genes. These advances make possible assessment of macroevolutionary patterns across hyperdiverse geographic areas. The campos rupestres are an outstanding example of a hyperdiverse ecoregion, harboring approximately 15% of the Brazilian flora, while restricted to less than one percent of the country's territory. The campos rupestres occur across several mountain ranges where harsh ecological conditions and discontinuity contribute to a high number of endemic species. Even though this ecoregion constitutes an incredibly diverse area, it remains poorly studied; evolutionary processes leading to the current floristic diversity and geographic distribution are mostly unknown at a broad scale. Furthermore, the campos rupestres are under threat due to anthropogenic practices and climate change, rendering the study of this area of great importance. We have assembled a large phylogeny of nearly all species of plants from the campos rupestres. We then use this phylogenetic hypothesis to help clarify the evolutionary relationships among its diverse lineages and the underlying patterns of phylogenetic diversity. To conduct this study, we used data repositories (e.g., REFLORA) to obtain a list of species from this ecoregion, taxonomic resources (Catalog of Life, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, Tropicos) to reconcile names and obtain synonyms, and GenBank to obtain sequence data for as many species as possible. For comparison, we obtained a tree from the Open Tree of Life using the cleaned species list. Because the campos rupestres occur in areas distributed discontinuously across three different biomes, we also assessed the degree to which geography influences species diversity, determining patterns of phylogenetic over- or underdispersion in each biome. Finally, we identified areas of high phylogenetic diversity as regions of special conservation concern. Through this analysis, we also clarified how much of the species diversity within the campos rupestres has been rigorously investigated.

1 - Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 1659 Museum , Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
2 - Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 1659 Museum , Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
3 - Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 1659 Museum , Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States

Keywords:
systematics
Large-Scale Phylogenetics
Campos rupestres
data science.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: MACRO2, Macroevolution II
Location: Tucson B/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 3:15 PM
Number: MACRO2008
Abstract ID:951
Candidate for Awards:George R. Cooley Award