| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section / ASPT Morris, Ashley B. [2], Gitzendanner, Matthew A. [2], Soltis, Douglas E. [2], Soltis, Pamela S. [1]. Phylogeographic structure in Liquidambar styraciflua (Altingiaceae). The potential effects of global warming o要 natural ecological systems are a primary concern of the National Park Service and other resource managers. Our comprehension of the effects of global warming o要 long-lived terrestrial plant species is largely limited to models that are based o要 general environmental data. To predict more accurately the future responses of such organisms to global warming, it is imperative that we understand historical population distributions and the evolutionary processes that resulted in their modern distributions in response to historical climate change. The purpose of this research is to infer the biogeographic history of eastern North America, using long-lived tree species as study organisms. The choice to include o要ly trees in this study was based o要 the fact that many trees in this region have well-preserved and well-documented fossil pollen records, whereas most herbaceous species do not. This allows us to compare multiple data sets (i.e. fossils and molecules) when presenting biogeographic hypotheses. Here we present a preliminary look at the phylogeographic structure of Liquidambar styraciflua (Altingiaceae). We generated cpDNA sequence data for multiple individuals from each of 24 North American populations of Liquidambar. Liquidambar is o要e of several trees that shares a pattern of common distribution in the eastern United States with a disjunction in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range of eastern Mexico. These Mexican populations have traditionally been designated as a distinct species, L. macrophylla, due to morphological differences. Our results to date show limited variation among U.S. populations, with o要e widespread haplotype extending into Mexico, supporting the recognition of o要ly o要e North American species of Liquidambar. o要e possible explanation for the observed pattern of variation is a recent disjunction within the range, likely due to post-glacial climatic warming and subsequent habitat loss.
1 - University of Florida, Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 117800, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-7800, USA
2 - University of Florida, Department of Botany, 220 Bartram Hall, P.O. Box 118526, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-8526, USA
Keywords:
biogeography
chloroplast DNA
Liquidambar styraciflua.
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 32-94
Location: Special Event Center (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
Time: 12:30 PM
Abstract ID:637 |
