Abstract
The spatial and temporal patterns of plant species radiations are largely unknown. I used a nonlinear regression to estimate speciation and extinction rates from all relevant dated clades. Both are surprisingly high. A high species richness can be the result of either little extinction, thus preserving the diversity that dates from older radiations (a ‘mature radiation’), or a ‘recent and rapid radiation’. The analysis of radiations from different regions (Andes, New Zealand, Australia, southwest Africa, tropics and Eurasia) revealed that the diversity of Australia may be largely the result of mature radiations. This is in sharp contrast to New Zealand, where the flora appears to be largely the result of recent and rapid radiations. Mature radiations are characteristic of regions that have been climatically and geologically stable throughout the Neogene, whereas recent and rapid radiations are more typical of younger (Pliocene) environments. The hyperdiverse Cape and Neotropical floras are the result of the combinations of mature as well as recent and rapid radiations. Both the areas contain stable environments (the Amazon basin and the Cape Fold Mountains) as well as dynamic landscapes (the Andes and the South African west coast). The evolution of diversity can only be understood in the context of the local environment.
References
-
Bakker F.T, Culham A, Marais E& Gibby M Nested radiation in Cape Pelargonium. Plant species-level systematics: new perspectives on pattern & process, Bakker F.T, Chatrou L.W, Gravendeel B& Pelser P.B . 2005pp. 75–100. Eds. Königstein, Germany:Koeltz. Google Scholar -
Baldwin B.G Adaptive radiation of the Hawaiian Silversword Alliance: congruence and conflict of phylogenetic evidence from molecular and non-molecular investigations. Molecular evolution and adaptive radiation, Givnish T.J& Systma K.J . 1997pp. 103–128. Eds. Cambridge, UK:Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar -
Barraclough T.G, Nee S& Harvey P.H . 1998 Sister-group analysis in identifying correlates of diversification. Evol. Ecol. 12, 751–754.doi:10.1023/A:1017125317840. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Benton M.J& Emerson B.C . 2007 How did life become so diverse? The dynamics of diversification according to the fossil record and molecular phylogenetics. Palaeontology. 50, 23–40.doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00612.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Berry P.E, Hahn W.J, Systma K.J, Hall J.C& Mast A.R . 2004 Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of Fuchsia (Onagraceae) based on noncoding nuclear and chloroplast DNA data. Am. J. Bot. 91, 601–614.doi:10.3732/ajb.91.4.601. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Born J, Linder H.P& Desmet P . 2006 The Greater Cape Floristic Region. J. Biogeogr. 34, 147–162.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01595.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Brochmann C, Gabrielsen T.M, Nordal I, Landvik J.Y& Elven R . 2003 Glacial survival or tabula rasa? The history of North Atlantic biota revisited. Taxon. 52, 417–450.doi:10.2307/3647444. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Brumfield R.T& Edwards S.V . 2007 Evolution into and out of the Andes: a Bayesian analysis of historical diversification in Thamnophilus antshrikes. Evolution. 61, 346–367.doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00039.x. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Buckley T.R& Simon C . 2007 Evolutionary radiation of the cicada genus Maoricicada Dugdale (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea) and the origins of the New Zealand alpine biota. Taxon. 91, 419–435. Google Scholar -
Burnham R.J& Graham A . 1999 The history of Neotropical vegetation: new developments and status. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 86, 546–589.doi:10.2307/2666185. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Chamberlain C.P& Poage M.A . 2000 Reconstructing the paleotopography of mountain belts from the isotopic composition of authigenic minerals. Geology. 28, 115–118.doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<115:RTPOMB>2.0.CO;2. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Chown S.L& Gaston K.J . 2000 Areas, cradles and museums: the latitudinal gradient in species richness. Trends Ecol. Evol. 15, 311–315.doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(00)01910-8. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Cooper R.A& Millener P.R . 1993 The New Zealand biota—historical background and new research. Trends Ecol. Evol. 8, 429–433.doi:10.1016/0169-5347(93)90004-9. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Cowling R.M& Lombard A.T . 2002 Heterogeneity, speciation/extinction history and climate: explaining regional plant diversity patterns in the Cape Floristic Region. Divers. Distrib. 8, 163–179.doi:10.1046/j.1472-4642.2002.00143.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Cowling R.M& Pressey R.L . 2001 Rapid plant diversification: planning for an evolutionary future. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 98, 5452–5457.doi:10.1073/pnas.101093498. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Cowling R.M, Rundel P.W, Lamont B.B, Arroyo M.K& Arianoutsou M . 1996 Plant diversity in Mediterranean-climate regions. Trends Ecol. Evol. 11, 362–366.doi:10.1016/0169-5347(96)10044-6. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Crisp M.D, Laffan S, Linder H.P& Monro A . 2001 Endemism in the Australian flora. J. Biogeogr. 28, 183–198.doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2001.00524.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Crisp M, Cook L& Steane D . 2004 Radiation of the Australian flora: what can comparisons of molecular phylogenies across multiple taxa tell us about the evolution of diversity in present-day communities?. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 359, 1551–1571.doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1528. . Link, ISI, Google Scholar -
Dupont L.M, Donner B, Vidal L, Pérez E.M& Wefer G . 2005 Linking desert evolution and coastal upwelling: Pliocene climate change in Namibia. Geology. 33, 461–464.doi:10.1130/G21401.1. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Dynesius M& Jansson R . 2000 Evolutionary consequences of changes in species' geographical distributions driven by Milankovitch climate oscillations. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 97, 9115–9120.doi:10.1073/pnas.97.16.9115. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ehrich D, Gaudeul M, Assefa A, Koch M.A, Mummenhoff K, Nemomissa S, Consortium I& Brochmann C . 2007 Genetic consequences of Pleistocene range shifts: contrast between the Arctic, the Alps and the East African mountains. Mol. Ecol. 16, 2542–2559.doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03299.x. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Erkens R.H.J, Chatrou L.W, Maas J.W, van der Niet T& Savolainen V . 2007 A rapid diversification of rainforest trees (Guatteria; Annonaceae) following dispersal from Central into South America. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 44, 399–411.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.02.017. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Fine P.V.A& Ree R.H . 2006 Evidence for a time-integrated species-area effect on the latitudinal gradient in tree diversity. Am. Nat. 168, 796–804.doi:10.1086/508635. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Finnie T.J.R, Preston C.D, Hill M.O, Uotila P& Crawley M.J . 2007 Floristic elements in European vascular plants: an analysis based on Atlas Florae Europaeae. J. Biogeogr. 34, 1848–1872.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01750.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Frakes, L. A. 1999 Evolution of Australian environments. In Flora of Australia, vol. 1 (ed. A. E. Orchard), pp. 163–203. Melbourne: ABRS/CSIRO Australia. Google Scholar
-
Francis A.P& Currie D.J . 2003 A globally consistent richness–climate relationship for angiosperms. Am. Nat. 161, 523–536.doi:10.1086/368223. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Gentry A.H . 1982 Neotropical floristic diversity: phytogeographical connections between Central and South America, Pleistocene climatic fluctuations, or an accident of the Andean orogeny. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 69, 557–593.doi:10.2307/2399084. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Gregory-Wodzicki K.M . 2000 Uplift history of the Central and Northern Andes: a review. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 112, 1091–1105.doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2000)112<1091:UHOTCA>2.3.CO;2. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Harvey P.H, May R.M& Nee S . 1994 Phylogenies without fossils. Evolution. 48, 523–529.doi:10.2307/2410466. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Hawkins B.A, 2003 Energy, water, and broad-scale geographic patterns of species richness. Ecology. 84, 3105–3117.doi:10.1890/03-8006. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Hill, R. S., Truswell, E. M., McLoughlin, S., & Dettmann, M. E. 1999 Evolution of the Australian flora: fossil evidence. In Flora of Australia, vol. 43 (ed. A. E. Orchard), pp. 251–320. Melbourne: ABRS/CSIRO. Google Scholar
-
Hopper S.D& Gioia P . 2004 The Southwest Australian Floristic Region: evolution and conservation of a global hot spot of biodiversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 35, 623–650.doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.112202.130201. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Hughes C& Eastwood R . 2006 Island radiation on a continental scale: exception rates of plant diversification after uplift of the Andes. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 103, 10 334–10 339.doi:10.1073/pnas.0601928103. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Jansson R& Dynesius M . 2002 The fate of clades in a world of recurrent climatic change: Milankovitch oscillations and evolution. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 33, 741–777.doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150520. . Crossref, Google Scholar -
Jaramillo C.A, Rueda M.J& Mora G . 2006 Cenozoic plant diversity in the Neotropics. Science. 311, 1893–1896.doi:10.1126/science.1121380. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Kadereit J.W, Griebeler E.M& Comes H.P . 2004 Quaternary diversification in European alpine plants: pattern and process. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 359, 265–274.doi:10.1098/rstb.2003.1389. . Link, ISI, Google Scholar -
Kendall D.G . 1948 On the generalized birth-and-death process. Ann. Math. Stat. 19, 1–15.doi:10.1214/aoms/1177730285. . Crossref, Google Scholar -
Klak C, Reeves G& Hedderson T.A . 2004 Unmatched tempo of evolution in Southern African semi-desert ice plants. Nature. 427, 63–65.doi:10.1038/nature02243. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Krammer R, Baumann K.H& Hennich R . 2006 Middle to late Miocene fluctuations in the incipient Benguela Upwelling System revealed by calcareous nannofossil assemblages (ODP Site 1085A). Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 230, 319–334.doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.07.022. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Kreft H& Jetz W . 2007 Global patterns and determinants of vascular plant diversity. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 104, 5925–5930.doi:10.1073/pnas.0608361104. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Kreft H, Jetz W, Mutke J, Kier G& Barthlott W . 2008 Global diversity of island floras from a macroecological perspective. Ecol. Lett. 11, 116–127. PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Lee D.E, Lee W.G& Mortimer N . 2001 Where and why have all the flowers gone? Depletion and turnover in the New Zealand Cenozoic angiosperm flora in relation to palaeogeography and climate. Aust. J. Bot. 49, 341–356.doi:10.1071/BT00031. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Linder H.P . 2003 The radiation of the Cape flora, Southern Africa. Biol. Rev. (Camb.). 78, 597–638.doi:10.1017/S1464793103006171. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Linder H.P . 2005 The evolution of diversity: the Cape flora. Trends Plant Sci. 10, 536–541. Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Linder H.P& Barker N.P . 2005 From Nees to now—changing questions in the systematics of the grass subfamily Danthonioideae. Nova Acta Leopoldina (R. 3). 92, 29–44. Google Scholar -
Linder H.P, Meadows M.E& Cowling R.M History of the Cape flora. The ecology of fynbos: nutrients, fire and diversity& Cowling R.M . 1992pp. 113–134. Eds. Cape Town, Republic of South Africa:Oxford University Press. Google Scholar -
Linder H.P, Hardy C.R& Rutschmann F . 2005 Taxon sampling effects in molecular clock dating: an example from the African Restionaceae. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 35, 569–582.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.12.006. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Luteyn J.L . 2002 Diversity, adaptation, and endemism in neotropical Ericaceae: biogeographical patterns in the Vaccinieae. Bot. Rev. (Lanc.). 68, 55–87.doi:10.1663/0006-8101(2002)068[0055:DAAEIN]2.0.CO;2. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Magallón S . 2004 Dating lineages: molecular and paleontological approaches to the temporal framework of clades. Int. J. Plant Sci. 165, Suppl., S7–S21.doi:10.1086/383336. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Magallón S& Sanderson M.J . 2001 Absolute diversification rates in Angiosperm clades. Evolution. 55, 1762–1780.doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb00826.x. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Marlow J.R, Lange C.B, Wefer G& Rosell-Melé A . 2000 Upwelling intensification as part of the Pliocene–Pleistocene climate transition. Science. 290, 2288–2291.doi:10.1126/science.290.5500.2288. . PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
McGlone M.S, Duncan R.P& Heenan P.B . 2001 Endemism, species selection and the origin and distribution of the vascular plant flora of New Zealand. J. Biogeogr. 28, 199–216.doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2001.00525.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Mummenhoff K, Linder H.P, Friesen N, Bowman J.L, Lee J.-Y& Franzke A . 2004 Molecular evidence for bicontinental hybridogenous genomic constitution in Lepidium sensu stricto (Brassicaceae) species from Australia and New Zealand. Am. J. Bot. 91, 254–261.doi:10.3732/ajb.91.2.254. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Murienne J, Grandcolas P, Piulachs M.D, Bellés X, D'Haese C, Legendre F, Pellens R& Guilberg E . 2005 Evolution on a shaky piece of Gondwana: is local endemism recent in New Caledonia?. Cladistics. 21, 2–7. Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Mutke J& Barthlott W . 2005 Patterns of vascular plant diversity at continental to global scales. Biol. Skr. 55, 521–531. Google Scholar -
Oberprieler C . 2005 Temporal and spatial diversification of Circum-Mediterranean Compositae–Anthemideae. Taxon. 54, 951–966. Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ollier C.D The origin of alpine landforms in Australasia. Flora and fauna of alpine Australasia& Barlow B.A . 1986pp. 3–26. Eds. Canberra, Australia:CSIRO. Google Scholar -
Partridge T.C& Maud R.R Macro-scale geomorphic evolution of Southern Africa. The Cenozoic of Southern Africa, Partridge T.C& Maud R.R . 2000pp. 3–18. Eds. Oxford, UK:Oxford University Press. Google Scholar -
Pennington R.T& Dick C.W . 2004 The role of immigrants in the assembly of the South American rainforest tree flora. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 359, 1611–1622.doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1532. . Link, ISI, Google Scholar -
Pirie M.D, Chatrou L.W, Mols J.B, Erkens R.H.J& Oosterhof J . 2006 ‘Andean-centred’ genera in the short-branch clade of Annonaceae: testing biogeographical hypotheses using phylogeny reconstruction and molecular dating. J. Biogeogr. 33, 31–46.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2005.01388.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Qian H& Ricklefs R.E . 2000 Large-scale processes and the Asian bias in species diversity of temperate plants. Nature. 407, 180–182.doi:10.1038/35025052. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Renner S.S . 2005 Relaxed molecular clocks for dating historical plant dispersal events. Trends Plant Sci. 10, 550–558.doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2005.09.010. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Richardson J.E, Pennington R.T, Pennington T.D& Hollingsworth P.M Rapid diversification of a species-rich genus of neotropical rain forest trees. Science. 293, 2001a 2242–2245.doi:10.1126/science.1061421. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Richardson J.E, Weitz F.M, Fay M.F, Cronk Q.C.B, Linder H.P, Reeves G& Chase M.W Rapid and recent origin of species richness in the Cape flora of South Africa. Nature. 412, 2001b 181–183.doi:10.1038/35084067. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ricklefs R.E . 2004 A comprehensive framework for global patterns in biodiversity. Ecol. Lett. 7, 1–5.doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00554.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ricklefs R.E Evolutionary diversification and the origin of the diversity–environment relationship. Ecology. 87, 2006a S3–S13.doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[3:EDATOO]2.0.CO;2. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ricklefs R.E Global variation in the diversification rate of passerine birds. Ecology. 87, 2006b 2468–2478.doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2468:GVITDR]2.0.CO;2. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ricklefs R.E . 2007 Estimating diversification rates from phylogenetic information. Trends Ecol. Evol. 22, 601–610.doi:10.1016/j.tree.2007.06.013. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Ricklefs R.E& Renner S.S . 1994 Species richness within families of flowering plants. Evolution. 48, 1619–1636.doi:10.2307/2410252. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Rutschmann F . 2005 Molecular dating of phylogenetic trees: a brief review of current methods that estimate divergence times. Divers. Distrib. 12, 35–48.doi:10.1111/j.1366-9516.2006.00210.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Sanderson M.J . 1998 Reappraising adaptive radiation. Am. J. Bot. 85, 1650–1655.doi:10.2307/2446495. . Crossref, Google Scholar -
Setoguchi H, Osawa T.A, Pintaud J.C, Jaffre T& Veillon J.M . 1998 Phylogenetic relationships within Araucariaceae based on rbcL gene sequences. Am. J. Bot. 85, 1507–1516.doi:10.2307/2446478. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Stevens R.D . 2006 Historical processes enhance patterns of diversity along latitudinal gradients. Proc. R. Soc. B. 273, 2283–2289.doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3596. . Link, ISI, Google Scholar -
Trewick S.A& Morgan-Richards M . 2005 After the deluge: mitochondrial DNA indicates Miocene radiation and Pliocene adaptation of tree and giant weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae). J. Biogeogr. 32, 295–309.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2004.01179.x. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar -
Whitfield J.B& Lockhart P.J . 2007 Deciphering ancient rapid radiations. Trends Ecol. Evol. 22, 258–265.doi:10.1016/j.tree.2007.01.012. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Wilf P, Cuneo N.R, Johnson K.R, Hicks J.F, Wing S.L& Obradovich J.D . 2003 High plant diversity in Eocene South America: evidence from Patagonia. Science. 300, 122–125.doi:10.1126/science.1080475. . Crossref, PubMed, ISI, Google Scholar -
Young K.R, Ulloa C.U, Luteyn J.L& Knapp S . 2002 Plant evolution and endemism in Andean South America: an introduction. Bot. Rev. (Lanc.). 68, 4–21.doi:10.1663/0006-8101(2002)068[0004:PEAEIA]2.0.CO;2. . Crossref, ISI, Google Scholar