Exploring the origin of the latitudinal diversity gradient： Contrasting the sister fern genera Phegopteris and Pseudophegopteris

• Published in: Journal of systematics and evolution : JSE Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 61 - 70
• Main Authors: SCHNEIDER, Harald, HE, Li-Juan, MARQUARDT, Jeannine, WANG, Li, HEINRICHS, Jochen, HENNEQUIN, Sabine, ZHANG, Xian-Chun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China%Department of Systematic Botany, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute of Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University, 37073 G(o)ttingen, Germany%UMR 7207 UPMC CNRS MNHN 'Centre de recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements' , 43 rue de Buffon, 75005 Paris, France%State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Botany,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Botany,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK%State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Botany,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China%Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK%State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Botany,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
• Subjects: BiSSE; climatic preferences; diversification rates; Evolution; extinction; Ferns; Himalaya; Life Sciences; macroecology; macroevolution; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant populations; Pleistocene glaciations; Pseudophegopteris; Speciation; Species extinction; Species richness; 喜马拉雅山脉; 形态过程; 物种丰富度; 生物多样性; 系统发育关系; 纬度梯度; 蕨类植物; 起源; Pakistan, Himalayas; Pleistocene glaciations; extinction; climatic preferences; macroevolution; phylogeny; macroecology; diversification rates; BiSSE; Himalaya; speciation
• ISSN: 1674-4918; 1759-6831
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1759-6831.2012.00234.x

The origin of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient has been studied using various approaches. Here, we employ a comparative phylogenetic approach to infer evidence for the hypothesis that differences in diversification rates are one of the main factors contributing to the assembly of this gradient. We infer the phylogeny of the two sister genera Phegopteris and Pseudophegopteris. The two genera are distinct in their species richness （4 vs. 20 spp.） and their preferences to temperate to subtropical （Phegopteris） or tropical climates （Pseudophegopteris）. Using sequences of three plastid DNA regions, we confirm the monophyly of each genus and infer the inter- and intra-generic phylogenetic differentiation of the sister clades. We recover evidence for distinct net-diversification rate between the two genera, which may be caused either by a higher extinction risk of temperate Phegopteris or a higher speciation rate of tropical Pseudophegopteris. We discuss our results in the context of our current knowledge on the speciation processes of ferns. We conclude on the crucial influence of other factors such as the rise of the Himalaya on the diversification of these ferns.