| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section / ASPT Martine, Christopher T. [1], Anderson, Gregory J. [1]. Two in the bush: On the evolution, distribution, and natural history of dioecy in Australian Solanum. THE causes, consequences, and correlates of dioecy have been the subject of much discussion since the days of Darwin. Several more recent authors have stressed the importance of informing this body of theory with studies that focus on lineages in which both dioecy and hermaphroditism are present. Solanum has been suggested as an ideal group for this because dioecy, hermaphroditism, and potential unisexual transitions between them all occur. We present phylogenetic hypotheses for the Australian species included by Symon in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum section Melongena. Ten of the 14 currently described dioecious species in the genus are included in this group. Results from ITS, matK, and morphological datasets show that dioecy evolved a single time in Australian Solanum and was followed by a radiation of perhaps 12 new species in the sub-arid tropics of northern Australia. Potential reasons for this radiation and the maintenance of dioecy in the group are also discussed, all within the framework of a revised taxonomy.
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1 - University of Connecticut, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 North Eagleville Road, U-3043, Storrs, Connecticut, 062693043, USA
Keywords:
Dioecy
Solanum
Leptostemonum
Solanaceae
Australia
andromonoecy
phylogeny
biogeography
dimorphism
endemism.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 62-2
Location: 106/Ayres
Date: Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
Time: 8:15 AM
Abstract ID:203 |
