Testing the Tropical Niche Conservatism Hypothesis: Climatic Niche Evolution of Escallonia Mutis ex L. F. (Escalloniaceae).

ABSTRACT: We assess the Tropical Niche Conservatism Hypothesis in the genus Escallonia in South America using phylogeny, paleoclimate estimation and current niche modelling. We tested four predictions: (1) the climatic condition where the ancestor of Escallonia grew is megathermal; (2) the temperate niche is a derived condition from tropical clades; (3) the most closely related species have a similar current climate niche (conservation of the phylogenetic niche); and (4) there is a range expansion from the northern Andes to high latitudes during warm times. Our phylogenetic hypothesis shows that Escallonia originated 52.17 ± 0.85 My, in the early Eocene, with an annual mean temperature of 13.8 °C and annual precipitation of 1081 mm, corresponding to a microthermal to mesothermal

SUBMITTER: Diban MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10781032 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature