Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants
BackgroundThe extraordinary diversification of angiosperm plants in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods has produced an estimated 250,000-300,000 living angiosperm species and has fundamentally altered terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions with animals as pollinators or seed dispersers have long been...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt9s28544d 2023-10-25T01:30:57+02:00 Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants Lengyel, Szabolcs Gove, Aaron D Latimer, Andrew M Majer, Jonathan D Dunn, Robert R Chave, Jerome e5480 2009-01-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s28544d unknown eScholarship, University of California qt9s28544d https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s28544d public PLOS ONE, vol 4, iss 5 Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Biological Sciences Agricultural Veterinary and Food Sciences Ecology Evolutionary Biology Environmental Sciences Crop and Pasture Production Animals Ants Biodiversity Ecosystem Magnoliopsida Phylogeny Seeds General Science & Technology article 2009 ftcdlib 2023-09-25T18:03:17Z BackgroundThe extraordinary diversification of angiosperm plants in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods has produced an estimated 250,000-300,000 living angiosperm species and has fundamentally altered terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions with animals as pollinators or seed dispersers have long been suspected as drivers of angiosperm diversification, yet empirical examples remain sparse or inconclusive. Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) may drive diversification as it can reduce extinction by providing selective advantages to plants and can increase speciation by enhancing geographical isolation by extremely limited dispersal distances.Methodology/principal findingsUsing the most comprehensive sister-group comparison to date, we tested the hypothesis that myrmecochory leads to higher diversification rates in angiosperm plants. As predicted, diversification rates were substantially higher in ant-dispersed plants than in their non-myrmecochorous relatives. Data from 101 angiosperm lineages in 241 genera from all continents except Antarctica revealed that ant-dispersed lineages contained on average more than twice as many species as did their non-myrmecochorous sister groups. Contrasts in species diversity between sister groups demonstrated that diversification rates did not depend on seed dispersal mode in the sister group and were higher in myrmecochorous lineages in most biogeographic regions.Conclusions/significanceMyrmecochory, which has evolved independently at least 100 times in angiosperms and is estimated to be present in at least 77 families and 11 000 species, is a key evolutionary innovation and a globally important driver of plant diversity. Myrmecochory provides the best example to date for a consistent effect of any mutualism on large-scale diversification. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica University of California: eScholarship |
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Open Polar |
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University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Biological Sciences Agricultural Veterinary and Food Sciences Ecology Evolutionary Biology Environmental Sciences Crop and Pasture Production Animals Ants Biodiversity Ecosystem Magnoliopsida Phylogeny Seeds General Science & Technology |
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Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Biological Sciences Agricultural Veterinary and Food Sciences Ecology Evolutionary Biology Environmental Sciences Crop and Pasture Production Animals Ants Biodiversity Ecosystem Magnoliopsida Phylogeny Seeds General Science & Technology Lengyel, Szabolcs Gove, Aaron D Latimer, Andrew M Majer, Jonathan D Dunn, Robert R Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants |
topic_facet |
Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Biological Sciences Agricultural Veterinary and Food Sciences Ecology Evolutionary Biology Environmental Sciences Crop and Pasture Production Animals Ants Biodiversity Ecosystem Magnoliopsida Phylogeny Seeds General Science & Technology |
description |
BackgroundThe extraordinary diversification of angiosperm plants in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods has produced an estimated 250,000-300,000 living angiosperm species and has fundamentally altered terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions with animals as pollinators or seed dispersers have long been suspected as drivers of angiosperm diversification, yet empirical examples remain sparse or inconclusive. Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) may drive diversification as it can reduce extinction by providing selective advantages to plants and can increase speciation by enhancing geographical isolation by extremely limited dispersal distances.Methodology/principal findingsUsing the most comprehensive sister-group comparison to date, we tested the hypothesis that myrmecochory leads to higher diversification rates in angiosperm plants. As predicted, diversification rates were substantially higher in ant-dispersed plants than in their non-myrmecochorous relatives. Data from 101 angiosperm lineages in 241 genera from all continents except Antarctica revealed that ant-dispersed lineages contained on average more than twice as many species as did their non-myrmecochorous sister groups. Contrasts in species diversity between sister groups demonstrated that diversification rates did not depend on seed dispersal mode in the sister group and were higher in myrmecochorous lineages in most biogeographic regions.Conclusions/significanceMyrmecochory, which has evolved independently at least 100 times in angiosperms and is estimated to be present in at least 77 families and 11 000 species, is a key evolutionary innovation and a globally important driver of plant diversity. Myrmecochory provides the best example to date for a consistent effect of any mutualism on large-scale diversification. |
author2 |
Chave, Jerome |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lengyel, Szabolcs Gove, Aaron D Latimer, Andrew M Majer, Jonathan D Dunn, Robert R |
author_facet |
Lengyel, Szabolcs Gove, Aaron D Latimer, Andrew M Majer, Jonathan D Dunn, Robert R |
author_sort |
Lengyel, Szabolcs |
title |
Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants |
title_short |
Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants |
title_full |
Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants |
title_fullStr |
Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ants Sow the Seeds of Global Diversification in Flowering Plants |
title_sort |
ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s28544d |
op_coverage |
e5480 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_source |
PLOS ONE, vol 4, iss 5 |
op_relation |
qt9s28544d https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9s28544d |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1780742620010512384 |