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- Patino, Jairo, et al.
(författare)
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Baker’s law and the island syndromes in bryophytes
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 101, s. 1245-1255
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. The evolution of island syndromes has long served as a model to understand the mechanisms accounting for phenotypic differentiation. Combining literature data with actual observations, we determine whether typical syndromes such as the loss of dispersal power and the bias towards selfcompatibility s law) apply to vagile organisms, using bryophytes as a model.2. The life-history traits (LHTs) observed in oceanic island floras were statistically different from those observed on continents, evidencing the evolution of island syndromes. In contrast, LHTs of continental and continental island floras were similar, pointing to differences in migration intensity between continents, continental islands and oceanic islands.3. The proportion of bisexual species was significantly higher on oceanic islands than on continents. A significant proportion of species that are unisexual or bisexual on continents shifted towards exclusive bisexuality on oceanic islands, suggesting that Baker’s law applies to bryophytes. The underlying mechanisms, however, probably differ from in situ selection for selfing.4. The proportion of species producing specialized asexual diaspores, which are assumed to play a role in short-distance dispersal (SDD), was higher on oceanic islands than on continents. The proportion of species producing spores, which are involved in long-distance dispersal (LDD), exhibited the reverse trend, suggesting a shift in the prevalent reproductive strategy to favour SDD on oceanic islands. Approximately 50% of the species, however, maintained the ability to produce sporophytes on oceanic islands, and the relative frequency of fertile shoots within collections of four model species was even higher on islands than on continents.5. Synthesis. Bryophytes exhibit typical island syndromes, indicating that migration rates between oceanic islands and continents are not sufficient to prevent the effects of genetic drift and contradicting the view that the sea does not impede migration in the group. Significant shifts in life-history traits (LHTs) towards increased production of specialized asexual diaspores and decreased sporophyte production on oceanic islands indeed point to a global loss of long-distance dispersal (LDD) ability. The maintenance of traits characteristic for LDD in a large number of species has, however, substantial consequences for our understanding of island plant evolution, and in particular, for our vision of islands as evolutionary dead ends.
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| 2. |
- Vanderpoorten, Alain, et al.
(författare)
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Early divergence of anAzorean endemic species in the moss genus Rhynchostegiella(Brachytheciaceae)
- 2015
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Ingår i: Phytotaxa. - : Magnolia Press. - 1179-3155 .- 1179-3163. ; 210, s. 60-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using the moss genus Rhynchostegiella (Brachytheciaceae) as a model, we address the question of whether taxonomic shortcomings account for the extremely low rates of endemism reported in the Azorean bryophyte flora. Eight accessions initially assigned to three of the four previously reported species in the Azores were identified as a distinct species using the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent method in the context of a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus. Rhynchostegiella azorica sp. nov. is therefore described as a new species that is endemic to the Azores. Its morphological features intergrade with those observed in other species, with a seta that ranges from almost smooth to rough; a length to width ratio of the laminal cells that matches the one of the R. curviseta group; but a leaf apex that is typical of the R. tenella group. This suggests that previous reports of four Rhynchostegiella species from Azores are erroneous and that a single, morphologically variable species, R. azorica, occurs in the archipelago. Rhynchostegiella azorica is sister to the remainder of the species of the genus, whose most recent common ancestor was dated at 4–20 Ma. This points to a more ancient origin in comparison with other Macaronesian endemic species of the genus. The unexpected discovery of an Azorean endemic species in Rhynchostegiella suggests that patterns of endemicity in the Azorean bryophyte flora are not well estimated from traditional taxonomic knowledge and point to the necessity of an extensive integrative taxonomic revision.
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