Reproductive ecology and biogeography of Artabotrys (Annonaceae): using phylogenies to test hypotheses in plant-pollinator coevolution, pollinator trapping, and spatio-temporal changes in distribution ranges and ecological niches

Professor Saunders, Richard Mark Kingsley   (Principal Investigator (PI))

Dr Guo Xing   (Co-Investigator)

42

2018-01-01

704866

Reproductive ecology and biogeography of Artabotrys (Annonaceae): using phylogenies to test hypotheses in plant-pollinator coevolution, pollinator trapping, and spatio-temporal changes in distribution ranges and ecological niches

biodiversity, biogeography, evolution, phylogenetics, pollination ecology

Biodiversity and Systematics,Ecology

Biology and Medicine (M)

17109417

General Research Fund (GRF)

2017

Completed

1 To reconstruct an extensively sampled and well-resolved phylogeny of Artabotrys and related genera based on nuclear and chloroplast DNA markers, and where topological incongruence is encountered to discriminate between alternative explanations (e.g., hybridisation/introgression vs incomplete lineage sorting). 2 To undertake detailed morpho-anatomical studies of exemplar Artabotrys species, with particular emphasis on flower structure. 3 To map the structural data onto the optimised phylogeny of Artabotrys to reconstruct ancestral morphological character states, enabling the identification of possible key evolutionary innovations with particular emphasis on possible pollinator trapping mechanisms. 4 To evaluate the floral biology and pollination ecology of selected Artabotrys species (including assessments of floral phenology, thermogenesis, scent chemistry, pollinators, and plant breeding system) in order to better understand functional interactions and to test hypotheses of plant-pollinator co-evolution. 5 To develop biogeographical hypotheses for Artabotrys based on ancestral area reconstructions in conjunction with molecular divergence time estimations, and to compare the results with a parallel study of the related genus Uvaria, which also demonstrates African-Asian disjunction. 6 To develop ecological niche models for extant Artabotrys species based on their climatic and edaphic tolerances, undertake phyloclimatic modelling to enable the reconstruction of evolutionary shifts in ecological preferences, and to contrast evolutionary transitions in Artabotrys and Uvaria. 7 To assess the importance of potential key evolutionary innovations and biogeographical events in Artabotrys by identifying correlations with changes in speciation and diversification rates using contrasting analytical approaches.