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Citation for Study 10075

About Citation title: "Diversification of the African genus Protea in the Cape biodiversity hotspot and beyond: equal rates in different biomes.".
About This study was previously identified under the legacy study ID S2415 (Status: Published).

Citation

Valente L., Reeves G., Schnitzler J., Mason I., Fay M., Rebelo T., Chase M., & Barraclough T. 2010. Diversification of the African genus Protea in the Cape biodiversity hotspot and beyond: equal rates in different biomes. Evolution, 64(3): 745-760.

Authors

  • Valente L.
  • Reeves G.
  • Schnitzler J.
  • Mason I.
  • Fay M.
  • Rebelo T.
  • Chase M.
  • Barraclough T.

Abstract

The Cape region of South Africa is an undisputed hotspot of flowering plant biodiversity. However, the reasons why levels of diversity and endemism are so high remain obscure. Here, we reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among species in the genus Protea, which has its center of species richness and endemism in the Cape, but also extends through tropical Africa as far as Eritrea and Angola. Contrary to previous views, the Cape is identified as the ancestral area for the radiation of the extant lineages: most species in sub-tropical and tropical Africa are derived from a single invasion of the region. Moreover, diversification rates have been similar within and outside the Cape region. Migration out of the Cape has opened up vast areas to those lineages, but they have not diversified as extensively at narrow spatial scales as lineages in the Cape. Therefore, higher net rates of diversification do not explain the high diversity and endemism of Protea in the Cape. Instead, understanding why the Cape is so diverse requires an explanation for how Cape species are able to diverge and persist at such small spatial scales.

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  • Canonical resource URI: http://purl.org/phylo/treebase/phylows/study/TB2:S10075
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