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Leaf evolution in Southern Hemisphere conifers tracks the angiosperm ecological radiation
Citation
Biffin, E and Brodribb, TJ and Hill, RS and Thomas, P and Lowe, AJ, Leaf evolution in Southern Hemisphere conifers tracks the angiosperm ecological radiation, Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences, 279, (1727) pp. 341-348. ISSN 0962-8452 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2011 the Royal Society
DOI: doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.0559
Abstract
The angiosperm radiation has been linked to sharp declines in gymnosperm diversity and the virtual
elimination of conifers from the tropics. The conifer family Podocarpaceae stands as an exception with
highest species diversity in wet equatorial forests. It has been hypothesized that efficient light harvesting
by the highly flattened leaves of several podocarp genera facilitates persistence with canopy-forming
angiosperms, and the angiosperm ecological radiation may have preferentially favoured the diversification
of these lineages. To test these ideas, we develop a molecular phylogeny for Podocarpaceae using Bayesian-relaxed
clock methods incorporating fossil time constraints. We find several independent origins of flattened
foliage types, and that these lineages have diversified predominantly through the Cenozoic and therefore
among canopy-forming angiosperms. The onset of sustained foliage flattening podocarp diversification is
coincident with a declining diversification rate of scale/needle-leaved lineages and also with ecological
and climatic transformations linked to angiosperm foliar evolution. We demonstrate that climatic range
evolution is contingent on the underlying state for leaf morphology. Taken together, our findings
imply that as angiosperms came to dominate most terrestrial ecosystems, competitive interactions at the
foliar level have profoundly shaped podocarp geography and as a consequence, rates of lineage
diversification.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Podocarpaceae, molecular phylogeny, divergence time estimates, plant evolution, podocarp leaf evolution, xylem |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Plant biology |
| Research Field: | Plant physiology |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Brodribb, TJ (Professor Tim Brodribb) |
| ID Code: | 82467 |
| Year Published: | 2012 |
| Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (DP120101686) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 65 |
| Deposited By: | Plant Science |
| Deposited On: | 2013-02-04 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-01 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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