Abstract Detail

Macroevolution

Edwards, Robert [1], Mason, Chase [2], Cartwright, Jennifer [3], Soltis, Pamela [4], Funk, Vicki [5], Thompson, James [6], Nauman, Travis [7], Ian, Pearse [8], Miller, Joe [9], Anacker, Brian [10], Goldhaber, Marty [11].

North America Defies Global Trend of Decreased Diversity under Extreme Environments.

Understanding the range and distribution of extreme abiotic conditions, and how these mediate plant diversity, is particularly important under a changing global climate. Yet defining what makes an environment extreme is not straightforward and faces two primary challenges: firstly, identifying a threshold above or below which any particular environmental variable can be considered extreme, and secondly identifying which of multiple variables may contribute to the extremeness of an environment. Here we present a set of GIS layers representing classes of environmental extremes (eg. heat stress, nutrient limitation etc.) derived from climate, soil, and elevational data. Using these we show that while plant richness is negatively associated with increased extremeness glabally, the North American flora shows greater richness in more extreme environments. This signal is amplified in the daisy family (Compositae), a group known for inhabiting marginal habitats.

1 - Smitrhsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, National Mall 10th St. & Constitution Ave, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
2 - University of Central Florida, Department of Biology, 4110 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, US
3 - US Geological Survey, Denver, CO, 80225, USA
4 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, Po Box 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
5 - DEPT OF BOTANY-NHB 166, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013, United States
6 - West Virginia University, Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA
7 - U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT, 84532, USA
8 - US Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA
9 - The Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Zoologisk Museum, Universitetsparken 15 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
10 - City of Boulder, Open Space and Mountain Parks Department, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA
11 - U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

Keywords:
macroecology
Species Richness
biodiversity
extreme environment
Compositae.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: MACRO1, Macroevolution I
Location: Tucson B/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 8:45 AM
Number: MACRO1004
Abstract ID:556
Candidate for Awards:None