| Abstract Detail
Annals of Botany Lecture - Dr. David Ackerly Ackerly, David D. [1], Jui, Ginger [1]. Pattern and process in plant trait evolution: evidence from comparative analysis. The phenotypic and functional diversity of extant plants reflects the outcome of evolutionary processes occuring over millions of years of plant evolution. We review studies from the literature that include quantitative data on plant functional traits (e.g., leaf size, height, seed size, etc.) and molecular phylogenies with relative or time-calibrated branch lengths. Using recently developed comparative methods, we calculate patterns of phylogenetic signal and rates of trait evolution. Preliminary analyses suggest that most traits exhibit a moderate degree of signal, less than that expected under a Brownian motion model. Observed patterns are in many cases consistent with stabilizing selection models, niche filling models, and some models of bounded evolution (where traits are constrained between minimum and maximum values set by ecological constraints). We will address the biological interpretation of these contrasting models and their significance for understanding patterns of plant functional diversity. Broader Impacts:
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1 - University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Bldg #3140, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
Keywords:
Annals of Botany Lecture.
Presentation Type: Special Presentation
Session: S2
Location: 556A/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: S2001
Abstract ID:62 |
