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Abstract Detail


Systematics Section/ASPT

Carlsen, Monica [1].

Using a molecular phylogeny to understand the biogeographic history of the genus Anthurium Schott (Araceae).

Anthurium is an extremely diverse and strictly neotropical genus of Araceae ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, including approximately 900 accepted species names. Results of a molecular phylogeny including 102 Anthurium species, generated with combined chloroplast (trnG intron, trnH-psbA and trnC-ycf6 intergenic spacers) and nuclear (CHS first intron) DNA sequences, revealed a pattern consistent with a rapid and recent species radiation, originating approximately 5-8 Mya following the uplift of the Andes.This phylogeny is here used as a framework for reconstruction of ancestral areas and dispersal/vicariance scenarios within the genus Anthurium. Ancestral area reconstructions employing the program RASP (S-DIVA) indicate that the genus Anthurium was quite widespread in Central America, west Andes and the Amazonia before it started to diversify. Throughout the evolutionary history of the genus, nine major species diversification events have occurred in the West Andes, four in the Amazonia, four in Central America, and one is exclusive to the Caribbean in the Lesser Antilles. The first species diversification event in Anthurium, comprising only two species, occurred in southern Central America (Nicaragua to Panama) with a later dispersal into northern Central America (southern Mexico to northern Honduras). The core of Anthurium species started to diversify later on, in a bigger ancestral area uniting western Andes and Amazonia. However, all major clades descending from this group were reconstructed as having very narrow ancestral area distributions. Seven clades are identified as having only one biogeographic region as ancestral area. Species in these clades diversify within the same area, without dispersing to any adjacent regions. For example, two clades diversified in Northern Central America, two in the western slopes of the Andes, two more in the Amazon region, and one in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean region. The rest of the clades in the core of Anthurium are constrained to a biogeographic region, but usually dispersing out to an adjacent area. Common patterns for ancestral area reconstructions for these clades are west Andes-Pacific Coast (three clades), Amazon-east Andes (two clades), and southern Central America-west Andes (two clades). In general, this study suggests that despite the current widespread Neotropical distribution of the genus Anthurium as a whole, bursts of species diversification have occurred repeatedly in very localized areas, thus the great number of endemic species found nowadays.

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1 - Missouri Botanical Garden, PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO, 63166, USA

Keywords:
Anthurium
biogeography
diversification
rapid radiation
neotropics
ancestral area reconstruction.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 26
Location: Franklin B/Hyatt
Date: Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: 26001
Abstract ID:798


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