Unveiling evolutionary cradles and museums of flowering plants in a neotropical biodiversity hotspot

González-Orozco, Carlos E.

doi:10.1098/rsos.230917

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Mountains, in particular, are museums and cradles of plant diversity [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] and serve as nature's last strongholds against the march of human impact [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. Within Greece, several mountains and mountain ranges constitute local (sensu [50]) biodiversity hotspots and endemism centres [18], as well as threatened plant diversity hotspots [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Kougioumoutzis,

Tsakiri,

Kokkoris

et al. 2024

Land

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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) play a critical role in providing ecosystem services through their provision of herbal remedies, food and natural skin care products, their integration into local economies, and maintaining pollinators’ diversity and populations and ecosystem functioning. Mountainous regions, such as Chelmos-Vouraikos National Park (CVNP), represent unique reservoirs of endemic MAP diversity that require conservation prioritisation. This study aims to provide insights into the sustainable management of MAPs, contributing to efforts to protect Mediterranean biodiversity amid the dual challenges of climate and land-use change, using a suite of macroecological modelling techniques. Following a Species Distribution Modelling framework, we investigated the vulnerability of endemic and non-endemic MAPs to climate and land-use changes. We examined the potential shifts in MAP diversity, distribution, and conservation hotspots within the CVNP. Our results revealed species-specific responses, with endemic taxa facing severe range contractions and non-endemic taxa initially expanding but eventually declining, particularly under land-use change scenarios. Local biodiversity hotspots are projected to shift altitudinally, with considerable area losses in the coming decades and elevated species turnover predicted throughout the CVNP, leading to biotic homogenization. Climate and land-use changes jointly threaten MAP diversity, calling for adaptive conservation strategies, thus highlighting the importance of proactive measures, such as awareness raising, establishing plant micro-reserves, assisted translocation, and promoting sustainable harvesting to protect these species within the CVNP. Our study offers vital insights for managing biodiversity hotspots amid global change pressures, stressing the need to integrate ecological and socioeconomic factors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Kougioumoutzis,

Tsakiri,

Kokkoris

et al. 2024

Land

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“…The cradle model emphasizes rapid speciation, while the museum model highlights the longterm preservation and gradual accumulation of lineages (McKenna & Farrell, 2006;Moreau & Bell, 2013). Phylogenetic studies of plant diversity have mainly focused on tropical regions, especially tropical rainforests (Eiserhardt et al, 2017;González-Orozco, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eurasian drylands are both evolutionary cradles and museums of Nitrariaceae diversity

Wu,

Peng,

Lian

et al. 2024

Journal of Biogeography

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AimDrylands cover about 41% of Earth's land surface and are home to fragile biota with high levels of endemism. Two hypothetical models, i.e., cradle and museum, have been proposed to account for present‐day species diversity in an ecoregion or biome. We investigated macroevolutionary patterns to test these two different models in Nitrariaceae, a characteristic component of the Eurasian dryland ecosystem. We also used this family to explore the intercontinental disjunct distribution pattern between the deserts of Eurasia and western North America, known as the Madrean–Tethyan disjunction.LocationDrylands in the Northern Hemisphere.TaxonNitrariaceae (Sapindales, Angiosperms).MethodWe sampled all 16 of the currently recognized extant species of Nitrariaceae and 59 species from the eight other families of Sapindales. A fossil‐calibrated phylogeny was generated using 12 fossil constraints. The ancestral range and climate niche of Nitrariaceae were reconstructed, and diversification rates were estimated.ResultsThe most recent common ancestor of Nitrariaceae likely inhabited arid habitats with low rainfall in the temperate zone in the Late Cretaceous, which geographically corresponds to present‐day Central Asia. The western North American Peganum mexicanum split from its Central Asian sister group at approximately 39 Ma. Net diversification rates of Nitrariaceae experienced a significant increase around 11 Ma. Within Sapindales, at least seven arid species originated markedly prior to the Miocene.Main ConclusionsThe North Atlantic land bridge and global cooling climate in the Late Eocene might have driven the formation of the present‐day disjunct distribution of Nitrariaceae between arid Central Asia and western North America. Nitrariaceae originated in the Late Cretaceous and exhibited long‐term climate niche conservatism, but experienced a rapid diversification in the late Miocene of Eurasia in response to orogenetic and climatic changes. These findings suggest that Eurasian drylands serve as both evolutionary cradles and museums for the diversity of Nitrariaceae and likely for other arid‐adapted lineages.

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The Invisible Species: Big Data Unveil Coverage Gaps in the Atlantic Forest Hotspot

Trindade,

Marques

2024

Diversity and Distributions

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AimRapid technological advancements and the biodiversity crisis have motivated efforts to document species before their extinction. However, taxonomic coverage gaps, where certain species are underrepresented in biodiversity databases, can distort our understanding of ecosystems. Here, we quantified how many of the plant species found in a hotspot are invisible, i.e. they would be excluded from studies due to insufficient occurrence data. Additionally, we identified factors influencing the invisibility of species.LocationAtlantic Forest hotspot, Brazil.MethodsWe downloaded and filtered occurrence data from 15,010 plant species from online biodiversity databases. We utilized multiple thresholds, each representing a minimum required number of records, to classify species as “invisible” if their record count fell below these thresholds. We fitted logistic models to estimate how factors such as life form, presence of a vernacular name, geographical distribution, endemism, and year of taxonomic publication influence the odds of species exclusion.ResultsThe proportion of invisible species ranged from 14% when employing simple tools requiring just three records to as high as 64% with more demanding tools requiring at least 60 records. Species with specific characteristics are more prone to invisibility, including non‐tree species, species without vernacular names, species with restricted distributions within Atlantic Forest, endemic species, and species with names published more recently. A significant portion of these invisible species are distributed along the coastline. In contrast, the continental portion of the biome exhibits fewer taxonomic coverage gaps of known species, most likely due to lower rates of new species descriptions.Main ConclusionsCoverage gaps are shaped by the interaction of biological traits, societal preferences, limited technical support, and human activities. Studies relying on distributional data must balance the rigour of filters and thresholds to achieve both geographical reliability and taxonomic coverage, adjusting them to align with each study's specific data and goals.

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Unveiling evolutionary cradles and museums of flowering plants in a neotropical biodiversity hotspot

Cited by 4 publications

References 35 publications

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Eurasian drylands are both evolutionary cradles and museums of Nitrariaceae diversity

The Invisible Species: Big Data Unveil Coverage Gaps in the Atlantic Forest Hotspot

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