| Abstract Detail
Mechanisms underlying exceptional plant diversity across eastern Asia Soltis, Pamela [1], Soltis, Douglas [2]. Phylogenetic, Microbial, and Functional Diversity Across the Eastern Asia – Eastern North American Floristic Disjunction. The deciduous forests of eastern Asia (EA) and eastern North America (ENA) represent relics of once-widespread mixed mesophytic forests of the Northern Hemisphere that date to the Miocene. Despite over a century of observation and study, many questions remain regarding the origin, evolution, and assembly of these forests. Disjunct EA and ENA forests provide an excellent natural system to examine the link between species diversity and ecological function within the context of a shared phylogenetic history. Moreover, this biogeographic disjunction provides opportunities to assess the relative roles of historical constraint, local adaptation, and time in shaping extant diversity and function of co-distributed plant and microbial communities. Our collaborative team synthesized phylogenomics, biogeography, and plant and microbial diversity to address novel questions on the origins and maintenance of biodiversity. We discuss (1) differential niche evolution between congeneric species in EA and ENA; (2) comparative community phylogenetics across six sites in ENA and five sites in EA; (3) patterns of bacterial and fungal diversity and their drivers; and (4) phylogenetic analyses of ~30 genera that display the EA-ENA disjunction. Collaborative explorations among phylogeneticists, plant and ecosystem ecologists, environmental microbiologists, and microbial geneticists in the USA and China are identifying those factors that shape biodiversity through space and time across this disjunction. Integration of historical connections, current patterns, and future species distribution models is generating more holistic views of the drivers of biodiversity and will enable future hypothesis-driven research. Log in to add this item to your schedule
1 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, PO Box 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States 2 - University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, PO Box 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
Keywords: phylogenetics Microbial Diversity functional diversity eastern Asia-North America disjunction.
Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations Session: C04, Mechanisms underlying exceptional plant diversity across eastern Asia Location: / Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021 Time: 10:15 AM(EDT) Number: C04002 Abstract ID:1043 Candidate for Awards:None |