| Abstract Detail
Biogeography Birch, Joanne L. [1], Keeley, Sterling C. [1]. The historical biogeography of the Asteliaceae (Asparagales) in the Southern Hemisphere and the Pacific. The influence of long-distance dispersal in determining the composition of both island and continental floras is increasingly well documented. However, patterns of long-distance dispersal in the Pacific remain poorly understood, with many Pacific taxa yet to be placed in a phylogenetic context. A phylogenetic study of the flowering plant family Asteliaceae (Asparagales) is underway that makes it possible to investigate the biogeography of the family. The Asteliaceae is an ideal family for the investigation of Pacific biogeography as it is present on eight island archipelagos in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in addition to three Gondwanan landmasses (Australia, New Zealand, and South America). Skottsberg (1934) hypothesized that the largest genus in the family, Astelia was of Gondwanan origin and considered the current distribution to be the result of multiple dispersal events into the Pacific. The phylogenetic position of 45 Asteliaceae taxa was evaluated using sequence data from both chloroplast and nuclear genomes. Pacific Island Astelia s.l. are found in distinct, widely separated clades requiring multiple, independent dispersal events to explain their current distribution. Long-distance dispersal has occurred via direct rather than stepping-stone pathways. Broader Impacts:
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1 - University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Botany, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
Keywords:
Asteliaceae
Astelia
Pacific biogeography
molecular phylogeny
Gondwana
long-distance dispersal
Austral biogeography.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 3
Location: 551A/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 8:45 AM
Number: 3004
Abstract ID:593 |
