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CONVERGENT AND CORRELATED EVOLUTION OF MAJOR LIFE‐HISTORY TRAITS IN THE ANGIOSPERM GENUS LEUCADENDRON (PROTEACEAE)
Author(s) -
Tonnabel Jeanne,
Mignot Agnès,
Douzery Emmanuel J. P.,
Rebelo Anthony G.,
Schurr Frank M.,
Midgley Jeremy,
Illing Nicola,
Justy Fabienne,
Orcel Denis,
Olivieri Isabelle
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.12480
Subject(s) - biology , proteaceae , biological dispersal , clade , genus , evolutionary biology , convergent evolution , phylogenetics , pollination , phylogenetic tree , molecular phylogenetics , ecology , pollen , biochemistry , demography , sociology , gene , population
Natural selection is expected to cause convergence of life histories among taxa as well as correlated evolution of different life‐history traits. Here, we quantify the extent of convergence of five key life‐history traits (adult fire survival, seed storage, degree of sexual dimorphism, pollination mode, and seed‐dispersal mode) and test hypotheses about their correlated evolution in the genus Leucadendron (Proteaceae) from the fire‐prone South African fynbos. We reconstructed a new molecular phylogeny of this highly diverse genus that involves more taxa and molecular markers than previously. This reconstruction identifies new clades that were not detected by previous molecular study and morphological classifications. Using this new phylogeny and robust methods that account for phylogenetic uncertainty, we show that the five life‐history traits studied were labile during the evolutionary history of the genus. This diversity allowed us to tackle major questions about the correlated evolution of life‐history strategies. We found that species with longer seed‐dispersal distances tended to evolve lower pollen‐dispersal distance, that insect‐pollinated species evolved decreased sexual dimorphism, and that species with a persistent soil seed‐bank evolved toward reduced fire‐survival ability of adults.