Geography, environment and organismal traits in the diversification of a major tropical herbaceous angiosperm radiation.

ABSTRACT: The generation of plant diversity involves complex interactions between geography, environment and organismal traits. Many macroevolutionary processes and emergent patterns have been identified in different plant groups through the study of spatial data, but rarely in the context of a large radiation of tropical herbaceous angiosperms. A powerful system for testing interrelated biogeographical hypotheses is provided by the terrestrial bromeliads, a Neotropical group of extensive ecological diversity and importance. In this investigation, distributional data for 564 species of terrestrial bromeliads were used to estimate variation in the position and width of species-level hydrological habitat occupancy and test six core hypotheses linking geography, environment and organismal traits. Taxon

SUBMITTER: Males J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5814923 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature