Extreme long‐distance dispersal of the lowland tropical rainforest tree Ceiba pentandra L. (Malvaceae) in Africa and the Neotropics

Abstract

Many tropical tree species occupy continental expanses of rainforest and flank dispersal barriers such as oceans and mountains. The role of long-distance dispersal in establishing the range of such species is poorly understood. In this study, we test vicariance hypotheses for range disjunctions in the rainforest tree Ceiba pentandra, which is naturally widespread across equatorial Africa and the Neotropics. Approximate molecular clocks were applied to nuclear ribosomal [ITS (internal transcribed spacer)] and chloroplast (psbB-psbT) spacer DNA sampled from 12 Neotropical and five West African populations. The ITS (N = 5) and psbB-psbT (N = 2) haplotypes exhibited few nucleotide differences, and ITS and psbB-psbf 1 haplotypes were shared by populations on both continents. The low levels of nucleotide divergence falsify vicariance explanations for transatlantic and cross-Andean range disjunctions. The study shows how extreme long-distance dispersal, via wind or marine currents, creates taxonomic similarities in the plant communities of Africa and the Neotropics.

Dispersals of Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae (Solanaceae) from the New World to Eurasia in the early Miocene and their biogeographic diversification within Eurasia

“…Recently, several molecular studies based on robust phylogenies and divergence time estimates suggest the importance of long-distance dispersal for some intercontinental disjunctions at the species or the genus level (Dick et al, 2007;Givnish et al, 2004;Nie et al, 2005;Schaefer et al, 2009;Wen and Ickert-Bond, 2009;Yokoyama et al, 1998). Long-distance dispersal between continents can be mediated by migratory animals, extreme meteorological phenomena, ocean currents, floating islands, or winds (Houle, 1998(Houle, , 1999Nathan et al, 2008;Renner, 2004;Winkworth et al, 2002).…”

“…Long-distance dispersal between continents can be mediated by migratory animals, extreme meteorological phenomena, ocean currents, floating islands, or winds (Houle, 1998(Houle, , 1999Nathan et al, 2008;Renner, 2004;Winkworth et al, 2002). Ocean currents have been suggested for some taxa with trans-oceanic disjunctions, such as Lathyrus L. of Fabaceae (Kenicer et al, 2005), Chrysosplenium L. of Saxifragaceae (Soltis et al, 2001), and Ceiba pentandra L. of Malvaceae (Dick et al, 2007). Taxa with small propagules such as Metrosideros Banks ex Gaertn.…”

Forests of the Past: A Window to Future Changes

“…In contrast to the assumption that tropical forests are particularly resistant to invasions, invasions turn out to be frequent in these regions over geological times scales as a result of "sweepstakes dispersal," the dispersal of species across wide physical barriers such as oceans (20). For instance, sweepstake dispersal of the winddispersed rainforest kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra, was inferred on the basis of DNA-sequence phylogeography and molecular clock methods: African populations established through oceanic dispersal from Neotropical sources at least 13,000 years before the present (21). Many other tropical tree taxa are shared across the Atlantic.…”

Genomic tools for traceability: Opportunities, challenges and perspectives for the Canadian forestry sector

“…Likewise, similar studies, for which the first objective was not to track illegal logging, could serve as a starting point to develop traceability systems, as for the economically important tropical wood of Kapok (Ceiba pentrandra (L.) Gaertn.) (Dick et al 2007) or Carapa (Carapa guianensis Aubl.) (Cloutier et al 2005).…”