Global distribution patterns and niche modelling of the invasive Kalanchoe × houghtonii (Crassulaceae)

Abstract

Invasive alien species are currently considered one of the main threats to global biodiversity. One of the most rapidly expanding invasive plants in recent times is Kalanchoe × houghtonii (Crassulaceae), an artificial hybrid created in the 1930s in the United States by experimental crossings between K. daigremontiana and K. tubiflora, two species endemic to Madagascar. Thanks to its large colonizing capacity (mainly derived from the production of asexual plantlets), K. × houghtonii soon escaped from cultivation and quickly spread in many parts of the world. However, its actual range is not well known due to the lack of a formal description until recent times (2006) and its strong morphological resemblance with one of its parentals (K. daigremontiana). The present study was aimed, in the first instance, to delimit the present distribution area of K. × houghtonii at the global scale by gathering and validating all its occurrences and to track its colonization history. Currently, K. × houghtonii can be found on all continents except Antarctica, although it did not reach a global distribution until the 2000s. Its potential distribution, estimated with MaxEnt modelling software, is mainly centered in subtropical regions, from 20° to 40° of both northern and southern latitudes, mostly in areas with a high anthropogenic activity. Unexpectedly, concomitant to a poleward migration, future niche models suggest a considerable reduction of its range by up to one-third compared to the present, which might be related with the Crassulaceaean Acid Metabolism (CAM) of K. × houghtonii. Further research may shed light as to whether a decrease in potential habitats constitutes a general pattern for crassulaceae and CAM plants.

Machine Learning Unmasked Nutritional Imbalances on the Medicinal Plant Bryophyllum sp. Cultured in vitro

“…a suitable biological system for the establishment of in vitro culture, thanks to their constitutive plantlet formation. Furthermore, PN was strongly dependent on genotype, and it could be explained because of the mechanisms of plantlet formation: BH and BD develop this process along the whole leaf margins (Garcês and Sinha, 2009;Herrando-Moraira et al, 2020), whereas PN is restricted to the distal leaf end in BT (Guerra-García et al, 2018), thus potentially causing such genotype influence (Figure 2).…”

From Ethnomedicine to Plant Biotechnology and Machine Learning: The Valorization of the Medicinal Plant Bryophyllum sp.

“…contribute to the invasiveness of these species. It allows them a rapid colonization of unexplored territories with high adaptative efficiency, which has contributed to their worldwide naturalization [22,23]. Bryophyllum and other Kalanchoe species have been widely used in the traditional medicine of vast regions throughout Africa, South America, and Asia [24].…”

Role of Maximum Entropy and Citizen Science to Study Habitat Suitability of Jacobin Cuckoo in Different Climate Change Scenarios

“…Similar reviews could be seen by Graham et al [21] and Suarez and Tsutsui [80] for additional uses of museum specimen data, which facilitated biodiversity policy and decision-making process [80]. Amongst the various other advantages, GBIF data can be used for biodiversity assessments [81], taxonomic revisions [82], compiling red lists of threatened species [83] and habitat suitability modelling [31,[84][85][86][87]. The latter is one of the prominent examples of climate change studies in which citizen science-based observations from the GBIF are being increasingly used [88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95].…”