Biology subjects

Monjas, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Monjas, D..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Climatic niche pre-adaptation in mainland Europe facilitated the colonization of Madeira by ivies (Hedera L., Araliaceae)

Background and aimsThe way plants cope with biotic and abiotic selective pressures determines their success in the colonization of remote oceanic islands, which ultimately depends on the phylogenetic constrains and ecological response of the lineage. In this study we aim to evaluate the relative role of geographical and ecological forces in the origin and evolution of the Madeiran ivy (H. maderensis). MethodsTo determine the phylogenetic placement of H. maderensis within the western polyploid clade of Hedera (three species), we analysed 40 populations (92 individuals) using genotyping-by-sequencing and including H. helix as outgroup. Climatic niche differences among the four study species were evaluated using a database with 706 records representing the entire species ranges. To test species responses to climate, a set of 19 vegetative and regenerative functional traits were examined for 70 populations (335 individuals). Key resultsPhylogenomic results revealed a nested pattern with H. maderensis embedded within H. iberica. Gradual niche differentiation from the coldest and most continental populations of H. iberica to the warm and stable coastal population sister to H. maderensis parallels the geographical pattern observed in the phylogeny. Similarity in adaptive traits is observed for H. maderensis and H. iberica. The two species show leaves with higher SLA, lower LDMC and thickness and smaller fruits than those of H. hibernica. ConclusionsAcquisition of the Macaronesian climatic niche and the associated functional syndrome in mainland European ivies (small fruits, leaves high SLA, and low LDMD and thickness) was a key step in the colonization of Madeira by the H. iberica/H. maderensis lineage, which points to climatic pre-adaptation as a driver of island colonization (dispersal and establishment). Once in Madeira, speciation was driven by geographical isolation, while ecological processes are regarded as secondary forces with a putative impact in the lack of further in situ diversification.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Out of the Mediterranean Region: worldwide biogeography of snapdragons and relatives (tribe Antirrhineae, Plantaginaceae)

AimThe tribe Antirrhineae, including snapdragons, toadflaxes and relatives, is a model group for plant evolutionary research. It is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and the Neotropics, but displays an uneven distribution of diversity, with more than 50% of species and subspecies in the Mediterranean Region. Here we conducted the first detailed, worldwide biogeographic analysis of the Antirrhineae and tested two alternative hypotheses (time-for-speciation vs. diversification rate differences) to explain the uneven distribution of diversity. LocationWorldwide, with a focus on the Mediterranean Region. Taxontribe Antirrhineae (Plantaginaceae). MethodsA phylogenetic biogeographic approach was taken, accounting for area connections through time. Ancestral ranges, dispersal events, speciation and lineage accumulation within areas were estimated. Diversification rates for taxa present and absent in the Mediterranean Region were compared, accounting for the effect of a floral key innovation (nectar spur). ResultsA proto-Mediterranean origin in the Late Eocene was estimated, and the Mediterranean Region stood out as the main centre for speciation and dispersal. Congruent patterns of long-distance dispersal from the Mediterranean Region to North America were recovered for at least two amphiatlantic clades. A significant floristic exchange between the Mediterranean and south-western Asia was detected. We found no evidence of different diversification rates between lineages inside and outside the Mediterranean Region. Main conclusionsThe Mediterranean Region played a key role in the origin of the current distribution of the Antirrhineae. However, the higher species richness found in this region appears to be the result of a time-for-speciation effect rather than of increased diversification rates. The establishment of current mediterranean climates in the Northern Hemisphere appears to have contributed to the recent diversification of the group, in combination with colonisation of adjacent regions with arid and semi-arid climates.

evolutionary biology↗