Role of palaeogeographical and ecological factors on the evolution and assembly of plant communities

古地理和生态因素对植物群落演化和组装的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-03778
• 负责人: Roncal, Julissa
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: Memorial University of Newfoundland
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=745869
• 关键词: Role; palaeogeographical; ecological; factors; evolution

I integrate the fields of biogeography, phylogenetics, geology, and ecology to understand the origin and assembly of biota on island systems. This work can help mitigate biodiversity loss. My long-term research program aims to explain how historical events and current ecological factors have influenced the evolution and distribution of plant species in tropical and boreal regions. Using case studies and synthesizing publicly available information my research group has three inter-related short-term objectives: 1) elucidate the historical biogeography of Caribbean plants; 2) study the formation of seasonally dry forests (SDTF) in the Andes; and 3) infer the potential assembly processes of plant communities on a boreal island. The Caribbean is important to study and conserve because it is one of the world's top five biodiversity hotspots. We will investigate the role of three hypotheses: colonization, insular speciation, and vicariance on the origin of Caribbean flora. Using published dated phylogenetic trees, we will infer ancestral areas of plants to test predictions of the effects of Caribbean geological history on the colonization or vicariance of plants. We will also estimate colonization and speciation rates from these phylogenies. DNA sequencing will be used to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree and biogeographic history of Copernicia, a Caribbean radiation of 21 palm species, as a case study. Up to a third of the global population live in dry tropical areas, which are some of the most endangered ecosystems in the tropics. Objective 2 will provide a spatial and temporal framework for SDTF formation, which will complement the incomplete geological evidence of Andean formation. Using DNA sequencing, we will conduct a phylogeographic and historical demographic analysis of two SDTF species in the cactus family at six localities in the Colombian Andes. The field of phylogenetic community ecology was born with the suggestion that the phylogenetic distances separating species in a community, could indicate whether abiotic, biotic or random factors drive the community assembly. We will test two conditions needed to make these inferences on a boreal island. Using six habitats in Newfoundland we will first evaluate if the phylogenetic distances of species are narrow or wide on a lineage-by-lineage basis. Second, we will test if trait adaptations to these habitats are evolutionary conserved or not. My research program will contribute to the field of island biogeography using a historical and current ecological perspective in the tropics and boreal. It will complement geological evidence aimed at reconstructing the onset, duration and spatial context of the Caribbean archipelago and the Andean uplift. My long-term research will impact the conservation of tropical and boreal ecosystems by informing the design of protected areas and the restoration of heavily disturbed areas. Three PhDs, two MSc, and five undergraduate students will be trained.

我整合了生物地理学、系统发育学、地质学和生态学等领域，以了解岛屿系统中生物群的起源和聚集。这项工作有助于减轻生物多样性的丧失。我的长期研究计划旨在解释历史事件和当前的生态因素如何影响热带和北方地区植物物种的进化和分布。通过案例研究和综合公开信息，我的研究小组有三个相互关联的短期目标：1)阐明加勒比植物的历史生物地理学；2)研究安第斯山脉季节性干旱森林（SDTF）的形成；3)推断北方海岛植物群落的潜在聚集过程。加勒比海是研究和保护的重要地区，因为它是世界五大生物多样性热点地区之一。我们将研究三种假说的作用：殖民化、岛屿物种形成和加勒比植物区系起源的变异。利用已发表的年代久远的系统发育树，我们将推断出植物的祖先区域，以检验加勒比海地质历史对植物殖民或迁移的影响的预测。我们还将从这些系统发生中估计定植和物种形成率。DNA测序将用于重建哥白尼的系统发育树和生物地理历史，作为一个案例研究，哥白尼是加勒比地区21个棕榈物种的辐射。全球多达三分之一的人口生活在干燥的热带地区，这些地区是热带地区一些最濒危的生态系统。目标2将提供SDTF形成的时空框架，这将补充安第斯形成的不完整地质证据。利用DNA测序技术，我们将对哥伦比亚安第斯山脉六个地区仙人掌科的两个SDTF物种进行系统地理学和历史人口统计学分析。系统发育群落生态学领域的诞生是由于这样一种观点，即群落中物种之间的系统发育距离可以表明群落聚集是否受到非生物、生物或随机因素的驱动。我们将在一个北方岛屿上测试做出这些推论所需的两个条件。利用纽芬兰的六个栖息地，我们将首先评估物种的系统发育距离在谱系的基础上是窄还是宽。其次，我们将测试对这些栖息地的特征适应是否是进化保守的。我的研究项目将对岛屿生物地理学领域做出贡献，从历史和当前的生态角度来看热带和北方地区。它将补充旨在重建加勒比群岛和安第斯隆起的开始、持续时间和空间背景的地质证据。我的长期研究将影响热带和北方生态系统的保护，为保护区的设计和严重干扰地区的恢复提供信息。培养博士3人，硕士2人，本科生5人。