ORCID Profile
0000-0002-0924-3637
Current Organisation
Murdoch University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Biological Adaptation | Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change | Terrestrial Ecology | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Ecology | Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics | Evolutionary Biology
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Climate Change Adaptation Measures | Natural Hazards in Forest and Woodlands Environments |
Related Links
Publications
Fire as a Selective Agent for both Serotiny and Nonserotiny Over Space and Time
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-03-2020
Fire as a Potent Mutagenic Agent Among Plants
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2018
Quaternary climate change explains global patterns of tree beta-diversity
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 17-11-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.11.14.382846
Abstract: Both historical and contemporary environmental conditions determine present bio ersity patterns, but their relative importance is not well understood. One way to disentangle their relative effects is to assess how different dimensions of beta- ersity relate to past climatic changes, i.e., taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional compositional dissimilarity, and their components generated by replacement of species, lineages and traits (turnover) and richness changes (nestedness). Here, we quantify global patterns of each of these aspects of beta- ersity among neighboring sites for angiosperm trees using the most extensive global database of tree species-distributions (43,635 species). We found that temperature change since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was the major influence on both turnover and nestedness components of beta- ersity, with a negative correlation to turnover and a positive correlation to nestedness. Moreover, phylogenetic and functional nestedness was higher than expected from taxonomic beta- ersity in regions that experienced large temperature changes since the LGM. This pattern reflects relatively greater losses of phylogenetic and functional ersity in species-poor assemblages, possibly caused by phylogenetically and functionally selective species extinction and recolonization during glacial-interglacial oscillations. Our results send a strong warning that rapid anthropogenic climate change is likely to result in a long-lasting phylogenetic and functional compositional simplification, potentially impairing forest ecosystem functioning.
Does smoke water enhance seedling fitness of serotinous species in fire-prone southwestern Western Australia?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
Invasion genetics of Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae): extremely low diversity across Asia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-03-2014
Fire as a key driver of Earth's biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-07-2019
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12544
Abstract: Many terrestrial ecosystems are fire prone, such that their composition and structure are largely due to their fire regime. Regions subject to regular fire have exceptionally high levels of species richness and endemism, and fire has been proposed as a major driver of their ersity, within the context of climate, resource availability and environmental heterogeneity. However, current fire-management practices rarely take into account the ecological and evolutionary roles of fire in maintaining bio ersity. Here, we focus on the mechanisms that enable fire to act as a major ecological and evolutionary force that promotes and maintains bio ersity over numerous spatiotemporal scales. From an ecological perspective, the vegetation, topography and local weather conditions during a fire generate a landscape with spatial and temporal variation in fire-related patches (pyro ersity), and these produce the biotic and environmental heterogeneity that drives bio ersity across local and regional scales. There have been few empirical tests of the proposition that 'pyro ersity begets bio ersity' but we show that bio ersity should peak at moderately high levels of pyro ersity. Overall species richness is greatest immediately after fire and declines monotonically over time, with postfire successional pathways dictated by animal habitat preferences and varying lifespans among resident plants. Theory and data support the 'intermediate disturbance hypothesis' when mean patch species ersity is correlated with mean fire intervals. Postfire persistence, recruitment and immigration allow species with different life histories to coexist. From an evolutionary perspective, fire drives population turnover and ersification by promoting a wide range of adaptive responses to particular fire regimes. Among 39 comparisons, the number of species in 26 fire-prone lineages is much higher than that in their non-fire-prone sister lineages. Fire and its byproducts may have direct mutagenic effects, producing novel genotypes that can lead to trait innovation and even speciation. A paradigm shift aimed at restoring bio ersity-maintaining fire regimes across broad landscapes is required among the fire research and management communities. This will require ecologists and other professionals to spread the burgeoning fire-science knowledge beyond scientific publications to the broader public, politicians and media.
Different sets of traits explain abundance and distribution patterns of European plants at different spatial scales
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.13016
Evolutionary potential and adaptation of Banksia attenuata (Proteaceae) to climate and fire regime in southwestern Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-05-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP26315
Abstract: Substantial climate changes are evident across Australia, with declining rainfall and rising temperature in conjunction with frequent fires. Considerable species loss and range contractions have been predicted however, our understanding of how genetic variation may promote adaptation in response to climate change remains uncertain. Here we characterized candidate genes associated with rainfall gradients, temperatures and fire intervals through environmental association analysis. We found that overall population adaptive genetic variation was significantly affected by shortened fire intervals, whereas declining rainfall and rising temperature did not have a detectable influence. Candidate SNPs associated with rainfall and high temperature were erse, whereas SNPs associated with specific fire intervals were mainly fixed in one allele. Gene annotation further revealed four genes with functions in stress tolerance, the regulation of stomatal opening and closure, energy use and morphogenesis with adaptation to climate and fire intervals. B. attenuata may tolerate further changes in rainfall and temperature through evolutionary adaptations based on their adaptive genetic variation. However, the capacity to survive future climate change may be compromised by changes in the fire regime.
A 350‐million‐year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-12-2015
Fire-mediated germination syndromes in Leucadendron (Proteaceae) and their functional correlates
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-021-04947-2
Abstract: A mechanistic understanding of fire-driven seedling recruitment is essential for effective conservation management of fire-prone vegetation, such as South African fynbos, especially with rare and threatened taxa. The genus Leucadendron (Proteaceae) is an ideal candidate for comparative germination studies, comprising 85 species with a mixture of contrasting life-history traits (killed by fire vs able to resprout serotinous vs geosporous) and seed morphologies (nutlets vs winged achenes). In idual and combined effects of heat and smoke on seed germination of 40 species were quantified in the laboratory, and Bayesian inference applied to distinguish biologically meaningful treatment effects from non-zero, but biologically trivial, effects. Three germination syndromes were identified based on whether germination was dependent on, enhanced by, or independent of direct fire cues (heat and smoke). Seed storage location was the most reliable predictor of germination syndromes, with soil-stored seeds c. 80% more likely to respond to direct fire cues (primarily smoke) than canopy-stored seeds. Notable exceptions were L. linifolium , with an absolute requirement for smoke to germinate (the third serotinous species so reported), and two other serotinous species with smoke-enhanced germination. Nutlet-bearing species, whether serotinous or geosporous, were c. 70% more likely to respond to fire cues than winged seeds, but there was no evidence for an effect of phylogeny or persistence strategy on germination. This comprehensive account of seed germination characteristics and identification of germination syndromes and their predictors, supports propagation, conservation and restoration initiatives in this iconic fynbos genus and other fire-prone shrubs with canopy or soil-stored seeds.
Retraction of: Evolutionary thinking in restoration under global environmental changes
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-02-2013
DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTT005
Low Rate of Between-Population Seed Dispersal Restricts Genetic Connectivity and Metapopulation Dynamics in a Clonal Shrub
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 29-11-2012
Covariation between intraspecific genetic diversity and species diversity within a plant functional group
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-08-2008
Polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for Banksia attenuata (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-06-2007
Contrasting impacts of pollen and seed dispersal on spatial genetic structure in the bird-pollinated Banksia hookeriana
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-11-2008
DOI: 10.1038/HDY.2008.118
Abstract: In plants, pollen- and seed-dispersal distributions are characteristically leptokurtic, with significant consequences for spatial genetic structure and nearest-neighbour mating. However, most studies to date have been on wind- or insect-pollinated species. Here, we assigned paternity to quantify effective pollen dispersal over 9 years of mating, contrasted this to seed dispersal and examined their effects on fine-scale spatial genetic structure, within the bird-pollinated shrub Banksia hookeriana (Proteaceae). We used 163 polymorphic lified fragment length polymorphism markers to assess genetic structure and pollen dispersal in a spatially discrete population of 112 plants covering 0.56 ha. Spatial autocorrelation analysis detected spatial genetic structure in the smallest distance class of 0-5 m (r=0.025), with no significant structure beyond 8 m. Experimentally quantified seed-dispersal distances for 337 seedlings showed a leptokurtic distribution around a median of 5 m, reaching a distance of 36 m. In marked contrast, patterns of pollen dispersal for 274 seeds departed strikingly from typical near-neighbour pollination, with a distribution largely corresponding to the spatial distribution of plants. We found very high multiple paternity, very low correlated paternity and an equal probability of siring for the 50 closest potential mates. Extensive pollen carryover was demonstrated by multiple siring in 83 of 86 (96.5%) two-seeded fruits. Highly mobile nectar-feeding birds facilitate this promiscuity through observed movements that were effectively random. As the incidence of bird-pollination is markedly greater in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region than elsewhere, our results have broad and novel significance for the evolution and conservation for many species in Gondwanan lineages.
Population Size Effects on Progeny Performance in Banksia ilicifolia R. Br. (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Bogor Agricultural University
Date: 06-2009
DOI: 10.4308/HJB.16.2.43
Genetic diversity of widespread Ophiopogon intermedius (Liliaceae s.l.): a comparison with endangered O. xylorrhizus
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2000
Phylogenetic and phenotypic structure among Banksia communities in south‐western Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-10-2011
Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for Banksia candolleana (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-05-2010
The role of pollinators in the floral diversification and life history of Leucospermum (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Phylogenetic patterns and phenotypic profiles of the species of plants and mammals farmed for food
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-10-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-018-0690-4
Abstract: The origins of agriculture were key events in human history, during which people came to depend for their food on small numbers of animal and plant species. However, the biological traits determining which species were domesticated for food provision, and which were not, are unclear. Here, we investigate the phylogenetic distribution of livestock and crops, and compare their phenotypic traits with those of wild species. Our results indicate that phylogenetic clustering is modest for crop species but more intense for livestock. Domesticated species explore a reduced portion of the phenotypic space occupied by their wild counterparts and have particular traits in common. For ex le, herbaceous crops are globally characterized by traits including high leaf nitrogen concentration and tall canopies, which make them fast-growing species and proficient competitors. Livestock species are relatively large mammals with low basal metabolic rates, which indicate moderate to slow life histories. Our study therefore reveals ecological differences in domestication potential between plants and mammals. Domesticated plants belong to clades with traits that are advantageous in intensively managed high-resource habitats, whereas domesticated mammals are from clades adapted to moderately productive environments. Combining comparative phylogenetic methods with ecologically relevant traits has proven useful to unravel the causes and consequences of domestication.
Gene-set association and epistatic analyses reveal complex gene interaction networks affecting flowering time in a worldwide barley collection
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-08-2019
DOI: 10.1093/JXB/ERZ332
Abstract: Using gene-set association test and epistasis analysis, this research achieved higher statistical power with potentially high accuracy, and detected significant genes and gene networks that influence flowering time in barley.
sPlot – A new tool for global vegetation analyses
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12710
Paternity analysis in Ophiopogon xylorrhizus Wang et Tai (Liliaceae s.l.): selfing assures reproductive success
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-04-2002
Mating System of Ophiopogon xylorrhizus (Liliaceae), an Endangered Species in Southwest China
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 05-1998
DOI: 10.1086/297562
Adaptive responses to directional trait selection in the Miocene enabled Cape proteas to colonize the savanna grasslands
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-04-2013
Reproductive biology of Ophiopogon xylorrhizus (Liliaceae s.l.): an endangered endemic of Yunnan, Southwest China
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2000
DOI: 10.1071/BT98028
Abstract: Reproductive biology of Ophiopogon xylorrhizus Wang et Tai was studied from 1995 to 1997 in Mengla County of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The small, white or pale pink flowers with stigmas above anthers appeared from late March to early April in the study years, and produced abundant pollen, but no nectar. Pollen : ovule ratios were 17 185 ± 2175. Every flower opens only once and remains functional for 10–12 h. Pollen remains viable for the same period. During anthesis, flowers were visited only by single species of thrips (Taeniothrips sp., Thripidae). No airborne pollen grains were collected throughout the blooming season, indicating that flowers are not wind-pollinated. About 28% of stigmas of unopened flowers were found with germinated pollen grains and seed set took place in single flowers that were bagged at the bud stage, which indicated autogamy and autonomous self-pollination. Ovary walls ruptured 4–5 days after fertilisation, allowing seed production to occur. About 75% of ovules were fertilised and developed into young seeds, but only 12.5% developed into mature seeds in open pollination treatments. The remainder of ovules were aborted or destroyed by insects or animals during the long developmental phase from April to December. In iduals of O. xylorrhizus commonly produced a single inflorescence with 2–24 flowers (15.3 ± 6.5, n = 33), and 1–43 seeds (12.7 ± 6.7, n = 33) during the study period. Conservation management for this endangered species is urgently required and in situ conservation is probably the best method to conserve this species.
Half of the world’s tree biodiversity is unprotected and is increasingly threatened by human activities
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 23-04-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.04.21.052464
Abstract: Although trees are key to ecosystem functioning, many forests and tree species across the globe face strong threats. Preserving areas of high bio ersity is a core priority for conservation however, different dimensions of bio ersity and varied conservation targets make it difficult to respond effectively to this challenge. Here, we ( i ) identify priority areas for global tree conservation using comprehensive coverage of tree ersity based on taxonomy, phylogeny, and functional traits and ( ii ) compare these findings to existing protected areas and global bio ersity conservation frameworks. We find that ca . 51% of the top-priority areas for tree bio ersity are located in current protected areas. The remaining half top-priority areas are subject to moderate to high human pressures, indicating conservation actions are needed to mitigate these human impacts. Our findings emphasize the effectiveness of using tree conservation priority areas for future global conservation planning.
Long‐distance dispersal of seeds in the fire‐tolerant shrub Banksia attenuata
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2009
Fire-adapted Gondwanan Angiosperm floras evolved in the Cretaceous
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2012
Bird pollinators, seed storage and cockatoo granivores explain large woody fruits as best seed defense in Hakea
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2016
Banksia born to burn
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-03-2011
DOI: 10.1111/J.1469-8137.2011.03663.X
Abstract: See also the Commentary by Midgley and Bond
Genetic connectivity and inter-population seed dispersal of Banksia hookeriana at the landscape scale
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-07-2010
DOI: 10.1093/AOB/MCQ140
Evolutionary history of fire‐stimulated resprouting, flowering, seed release and germination
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-11-2018
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12483
Abstract: Fire has shaped the evolution of many plant traits in fire-prone environments: fire-resistant tissues with heat-insulated meristems, post-fire resprouting or fire-killed but regenerating from stored seeds, fire-stimulated flowering, release of on-plant-stored seeds, and germination of soil-stored seeds. Flowering, seed release and germination fit into three categories of response to intensifying fire: fire not required, weakly fire-adapted or strongly fire-adapted. Resprouting also has three categories but survival is always reduced by increasing fire intensity. We collated 286 records for 20 angiosperm and two gymnosperm families and 50 trait assignments to dated phylogenies. We placed these into three fire-adapted trait types: those associated with the origin of their clade and the onset of fire-proneness [primary ersification, contributing 20% of speciation events over the last 120 million years (My)], those originating much later coincident with a change in the fire regime (secondary ersification, 30%), and those conserved in the daughter lineage as already adapted to the fire regime (stabilisation, 50%). All four fire-response types could be traced to >100 My ago (Mya) with pyrogenic flowering slightly younger because of its dependence on resprouting. There was no evidence that resprouting was always an older trait than either seed storage or non-sprouting throughout this period, with either/both ancestral or derived in different clades and times. Fire-adapted traits evolved slowly in the Cretaceous, 120-65 Mya, and rapidly but fitfully in the Cenozoic, 65-0 Mya, peaking over the last 20 My. The four trait-types climaxed at different times, with the peak in resprouter speciation over the last 5 My attributable to fluctuating growing conditions and increasing savanna grasslands unsuitable for non-sprouters. All experienced a trough in the 40-30-Mya period following a reduction in world temperatures and oxygen levels and expected reduced fire activity. Thick bark and serotiny arose in the Mid-Cretaceous among extant Pinaceae. Heat-stimulated germination of hard seeds is ancestral in the 103-My-old Fabales. Smoke-(karrikin)-stimulated germination of non-hard seeds is even older, and includes the 101-My-old Restionaceae-Anarthriaceae. A smoke/karrikin response is detectable in some fire-free lineages that prove to have a fire-prone ancestry. Among clades that are predominantly fire-prone, absence of fire-related traits is the advanced condition, associated either with increased fire frequency (loss of serotiny and soil storage), or migration to fire-free habitats (loss of thick bark, pyrogenic flowering, serotiny or soil storage). Protea (Africa) and Hakea (Australia) illustrate the importance of stabilisation processes between resprouting/non-sprouting in accounting for speciation events over the last 20 My and highlight the frequent interchange possible between these two traits. Apart from Pinus, most ancestral trait reconstruction relative to fire has been conducted on predominantly Southern Hemisphere clades and this needs to be redressed. Despite these limitations, it is clear that fire has had a profound effect on fire-related trait evolution worldwide, and set the platform for subsequent evolution of many non-fire-related traits. Genetics of the triggering mechanisms remain poorly understood, except the karrikin system for smoke-stimulated germination. We exhort biologists to include fire-proneness and fire-related traits in their thinking on possible factors controlling the evolution of plants.
Contribution of transition and stabilization processes to speciation is a function of the ancestral trait state and selective environment in Hakea
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 23-10-2017
DOI: 10.1101/207373
Abstract: Currently the origin and trajectories of novel traits are emphasised in evolutionary studies, the role of stabilization is neglected, and interpretations are often post hoc rather than as hypothesised responses to stated agents of selection. Here we evaluated the impact of changing environmental conditions on trait evolution and stabilization and their relative contribution to ersification in a prominent Australian genus, Hakea (Proteaceae). We assembled a time-based phylogeny for Hakea , reconstructed its ancestral traits for six attributes and determined their evolutionary trajectories in response to the advent or increasing presence of fire, seasonality, aridity, nectar-feeding birds and (in)vertebrate herbivores/granivores. The ancestral Hakea arose 18 million years ago (Ma) and was broad-leaved, non-spinescent, insect-pollinated, had medium-sized, serotinous fruits and resprouted after fire. Of the 190 ersification events that yielded the 82 extant species analysed, 8–50% involved evolution, stabilization or re-evolution (reversal) of in idual novel traits. Needle leaves appeared 14 Ma and increased through the Neogene/Quaternary coinciding with intensifying seasonality and aridity. Spinescence arose 12 Ma consistent with the advent of vertebrate herbivores. Bird-pollination appeared 14 Ma in response to advent of the Meliphagidae in the early Miocene. Small and large woody fruits evolved from 12 Ma as alternative defenses against granivory. Fire-caused death evolved 14 Ma, accounting for 50% of subsequent events, as fire became less stochastic. Loss of serotiny began in the late Miocene as non-fireprone habitats became available but only contributed 8% of events. Innovation and subsequent stabilization of functional traits promoted the overall species ersification rate in Hakea by 15 times such that only three species now retain the ancestral phenotype. Our approach holds great promise for understanding the processes responsible for speciation of organisms when the ancestral condition can be identified and the likely selective agents are understood.
On the origin and genetic variability of the two invasive biotypes of Chromolaena odorata
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-01-2018
LMA , density and thickness: recognizing different leaf shapes and correcting for their nonlaminarity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-05-2015
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.13465
High nutrient-use efficiency during early seedling growth in diverse Grevillea species (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-11-2015
DOI: 10.1038/SREP17132
Abstract: Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the rich floristic ersity in regions characterised by nutrient-impoverished soils however, none of these hypotheses have been able to explain the rapid ersification over a relatively short evolutionary time period of Grevillea , an Australian plant genus with 452 recognised species/subspecies and only 11 million years of evolutionary history. Here, we hypothesise that the apparent evolutionary success of Grevillea might have been triggered by the highly efficient use of key nutrients. The nutrient content in the seeds and nutrient-use efficiency during early seedling growth of 12 species of Grevillea were compared with those of 24 species of Hakea , a closely related genus. Compared with Hakea , the Grevillea species achieved similar growth rates (root and shoot length) during the early stages of seedling growth but contained only approximately half of the seed nutrient content. We conclude that the high nutrient-use efficiency observed in Grevillea might have provided a selective advantage in nutrient-poor ecosystems during evolution and that this property likely contributed to the evolutionary success in Grevillea .
Baptism by fire: the pivotal role of ancient conflagrations in evolution of the Earth's flora
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-04-2017
DOI: 10.1093/NSR/NWX041
Abstract: Fire became a defining feature of the Earth's processes as soon as land plants evolved 420 million years ago and has played a major role in shaping the composition and physiognomy of many ecosystems ever since. However, there remains a general lack of appreciation of the place of fire in the origin, evolution, ecology and conservation of the Earth's bio ersity. We review the literature on the presence of fire throughout the Earth's history following the evolution of land plants and examine the evidence for the origin and evolution of adaptive functional traits, biomes and major plant groups in relation to fire. We show that: (1) fire activities have fluctuated throughout geological time due to variations in climate, and more importantly in atmospheric oxygen, as these affected fuel levels and flammability (2) fire promoted the early evolution and spread of major terrestrial plant groups (3) fire has shaped the floristics, structure and function of major global biomes and (4) fire has initiated and maintained the evolution of a wide array of fire-adapted functional traits since the evolution of land plants. We conclude that fire has been a fundamental agent of natural selection on terrestrial plants throughout the history of life on the Earth's land surface. We suggest that a paradigm shift is required to reassess ecological and evolutionary theories that exclude a role for fire, and also there is a need to review fire-suppression policies on ecosystem management and bio ersity conservation in global fire-prone regions.
Fitness and evolution of resprouters in relation to fire
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-10-2011
Species versus genotypic diversity of a nitrogen‐fixing plant functional group in a metacommunity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2009
Genomic structural equation modelling provides a whole-system approach for the future crop breeding
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-05-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S00122-021-03865-4
Abstract: Using genomic structural equation modelling, this research demonstrates an efficient way to identify genetically correlating traits and provides an effective proxy for multi-trait selection to consider the joint genetic architecture of multiple interacting traits in crop breeding. Breeding crop cultivars with optimal value across multiple traits has been a challenge, as traits may negatively correlate due to pleiotropy or genetic linkage. For ex le, grain yield and grain protein content correlate negatively with each other in cereal crops. Future crop breeding needs to be based on practical yet accurate evaluation and effective selection of beneficial trait to retain genes with the best agronomic score for multiple traits. Here, we test the framework of whole-system-based approach using structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate how one trait affects others to guide the optimal selection of a combination of agronomically important traits. Using ten traits and genome-wide SNP profiles from a worldwide barley panel and SEM analysis, we revealed a network of interacting traits, in which tiller number contributes positively to both grain yield and protein content we further identified common genetic factors affecting multiple traits in the network of interaction. Our method demonstrates an efficient way to identify genetically correlating traits and underlying pleiotropic genetic factors and provides an effective proxy for multi-trait selection within a whole-system framework that considers the joint genetic architecture of multiple interacting traits in crop breeding. Our findings suggest the promise of a whole-system approach to overcome challenges such as the negative correlation of grain yield and protein content to facilitating quantitative and objective breeding decisions in future crop breeding.
The global spectrum of plant form and function: enhanced species-level trait dataset
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-12-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-022-01774-9
Abstract: Here we provide the ‘Global Spectrum of Plant Form and Function Dataset’, containing species mean values for six vascular plant traits. Together, these traits –plant height, stem specific density, leaf area, leaf mass per area, leaf nitrogen content per dry mass, and diaspore (seed or spore) mass – define the primary axes of variation in plant form and function. The dataset is based on ca. 1 million trait records received via the TRY database (representing ca. 2,500 original publications) and additional unpublished data. It provides 92,159 species mean values for the six traits, covering 46,047 species. The data are complemented by higher-level taxonomic classification and six categorical traits (woodiness, growth form, succulence, adaptation to terrestrial or aquatic habitats, nutrition type and leaf type). Data quality management is based on a probabilistic approach combined with comprehensive validation against expert knowledge and external information. Intense data acquisition and thorough quality control produced the largest and, to our knowledge, most accurate compilation of empirically observed vascular plant species mean traits to date.
Floral divergence in closely related Leucospermum tottum (Proteaceae) varieties pollinated by birds and long-proboscid flies
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-05-2014
Seed Size, Fecundity and Postfire Regeneration Strategy Are Interdependent in Hakea
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 02-06-2015
Rapid genetic identification of local provenance seed collection zones for ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2006
The Genetic Control of Stomatal Development in Barley: New Solutions for Enhanced Water-Use Efficiency in Drought-Prone Environments
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-08-2021
Abstract: Increased drought frequency due to climate change is limiting the agronomic performance of cereal crops globally, where cultivars often experience negative impacts on yield. Stomata are the living interface responsible for % of plant water loss through transpiration. Thus, stomata are a prospective target for improving drought tolerance by enhancing water-use efficiency (WUE) in economically important cereals. Reducing stomatal density through molecular approaches has been shown to improve WUE in many plant species, including the commercial cereals barley, rice, wheat and maize. Rice with reduced stomatal density exhibit yields 27% higher than controls under drought conditions, reflecting the amenability of grasses to stomatal density modification. This review presents a comprehensive overview of stomatal development, with a specific emphasis on the genetic improvement of WUE in the grass lineage. Improved understanding of the genetic regulation of stomatal development in the grasses, provides significant promise to improve cereal adaptivity in drought-prone environments whilst maximising yield potential. Rapid advances in gene-editing and ‘omics’ technologies may allow for accelerated adaption of future commercial varieties to water restriction. This may be achieved through a combination of genomic sequencing data and CRISPR-Cas9-directed genetic modification approaches.
Global beta-diversity of angiosperm trees is shaped by Quaternary climate change
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 05-04-2023
Abstract: As Earth’s climate has varied strongly through geological time, studying the impacts of past climate change on bio ersity helps to understand the risks from future climate change. However, it remains unclear how paleoclimate shapes spatial variation in bio ersity. Here, we assessed the influence of Quaternary climate change on spatial dissimilarity in taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional composition among neighboring 200-kilometer cells (beta- ersity) for angiosperm trees worldwide. We found that larger glacial-interglacial temperature change was strongly associated with lower spatial turnover (species replacements) and higher nestedness (richness changes) components of beta- ersity across all three bio ersity facets. Moreover, phylogenetic and functional turnover was lower and nestedness higher than random expectations based on taxonomic beta- ersity in regions that experienced large temperature change, reflecting phylogenetically and functionally selective processes in species replacement, extinction, and colonization during glacial-interglacial oscillations. Our results suggest that future human-driven climate change could cause local homogenization and reduction in taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional ersity of angiosperm trees worldwide.
Polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for Daviesia triflora (Papilionaceae)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-10-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1755-0998.2008.02286.X
Abstract: We developed 11 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for an Australian native plant, Daviesia triflora. The number of alleles per locus in 40 in iduals varied from four to 19, and observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.450 to 0.925 and from 0.497 to 0.899, respectively. Nine loci showed no significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05), and null alleles appear to exist at loci DT-A102 and DT-B103. All loci showed independent inheritance.
High exposure of global tree diversity to human pressure
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 16-06-2022
Abstract: Safeguarding Earth’s tree ersity is a conservation priority due to the importance of trees for bio ersity and ecosystem functions and services such as carbon sequestration. Here, we improve the foundation for effective conservation of global tree ersity by analyzing a recently developed database of tree species covering 46,752 species. We quantify range protection and anthropogenic pressures for each species and develop conservation priorities across taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional ersity dimensions. We also assess the effectiveness of several influential proposed conservation prioritization frameworks to protect the top 17% and top 50% of tree priority areas. We find that an average of 50.2% of a tree species’ range occurs in 110-km grid cells without any protected areas (PAs), with 6,377 small-range tree species fully unprotected, and that 83% of tree species experience nonnegligible human pressure across their range on average. Protecting high-priority areas for the top 17% and 50% priority thresholds would increase the average protected proportion of each tree species’ range to 65.5% and 82.6%, respectively, leaving many fewer species (2,151 and 2,010) completely unprotected. The priority areas identified for trees match well to the Global 200 Ecoregions framework, revealing that priority areas for trees would in large part also optimize protection for terrestrial bio ersity overall. Based on range estimates for ,000 tree species, our findings show that a large proportion of tree species receive limited protection by current PAs and are under substantial human pressure. Improved protection of bio ersity overall would also strongly benefit global tree ersity.
Characterization of Leaf Transcriptome in Banksia hookeriana
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
Soil properties drive a negative correlation between species diversity and genetic diversity in a tropical seasonal rainforest
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-02-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP20652
Abstract: A negative species-genetic ersity correlation (SGDC) could be predicted by the niche variation hypothesis, whereby an increase in species ersity within community reduces the genetic ersity of the co-occurring species because of the reduction in average niche breadth alternatively, competition could reduce effective population size and therefore genetic ersity of the species within community. We tested these predictions within a 20 ha tropical forest dynamics plot (FDP) in the Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rainforest. We established 15 plots within the FDP and investigated the soil properties, tree ersity, and genetic ersity of a common tree species Beilschmiedia roxburghiana within each plot. We observed a significant negative correlation between tree ersity and the genetic ersity of B. roxburghiana within the communities. Using structural equation modeling, we further determined that the inter-plot environmental characteristics (soil pH and phosphorus availability) directly affected tree ersity and that the tree ersity within the community determined the genetic ersity of B. roxburghiana . Increased soil pH and phosphorus availability might promote the coexistence of more tree species within community and reduce genetic ersity of B. roxburghiana for the reduced average niche breadth alternatively, competition could reduce effective population size and therefore genetic ersity of B. roxburghiana within community.
Genetic structure and heterozygosity variation between generations of Ophiopogon xylorrhizus (Liliaceae s.l.), an endemic species in Yunnan, Southwest China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2001
Hakea, the world’s most sclerophyllous genus, arose in southwestern Australian heathland and diversified throughout Australia over the past 12 million years
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/BT15134
Abstract: Hakea (Proteaceae) currently comprises over 150 species, with two-thirds confined to south-western Australia (SWA) and the remainder spread throughout Australia, especially along the eastern coast. We constructed a time-based molecular phylogeny for the genus and used area-assignment techniques to trace its biogeographic history. According to our area-cladogram analysis, there is a 95% probability that Hakea arose 18 million years ago (Ma) in the sandplains of SWA. From 12 Ma, the genus speciated and migrated into forest and onto granite outcrops within SWA, into the drier centre and then continued to the maritime forests of eastern Australia (EA) 3000 km away, and north-east to savanna grasslands. The Nullarbor Plain was an obstacle but it did not prevent eastward migration. Twelve west➔east, apparently allopatric, speciation events are identified that coincided with glacial maxima, but more likely represent sympatric speciation in SWA or central Australia, followed by further migration and speciation➔extinction➔speciation events across central to EA. During the period from 8 to 1 Ma, net speciation has been linear and strong in the sclerophyll shrublands of SWA and, to a lesser extent, the sclerophyll forests of EA. Four lines of evidence (historical distribution of sclerophyllous Proteaceae, historical subjection to aridity, species ersification patterns, relative allocation of drought-adapted traits) support our area-cladogram results that Hakea originated in SWA and gradually spread to all parts of Australia as suitable nutrient-impoverished, and open drought- and fire-prone habitats became available.
Structural equation modelling analysis of evolutionary and ecological patterns in Australian Banksia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-04-2013
Pre-Gondwanan-breakup origin of Beauprea (Proteaceae) explains its historical presence in New Caledonia and New Zealand
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 04-2016
Abstract: The tropical shrub Beauprea was already present in Gondwana when Zealandia drifted away from Antarctica 82 million years ago.
Ancient Rhamnaceae flowers impute an origin for flowering plants exceeding 250-million-years ago
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
High microsatellite genetic diversity fails to predict greater population resistance to extreme drought
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-08-2009
Genetic spatial clustering: significant implications for conservation of wild soybean (Glycine soja: Fabaceae)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2006
DOI: 10.1007/S10709-005-4823-8
Abstract: Knowledge of spatial patterns of genetic variation within populations of wild relative species has significant implications with respect to s ling strategies for ex situ and in situ conservation. To study spatial genetic structure of wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. et Zucc.) at the fine scale, three natural populations in northern China were analyzed using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) fingerprints for estimating kinship coefficients. A regression analysis of kinship coefficients against spatial distances revealed that in iduals occurring close together tended to be more genetically related. The Sp statistic further indicated a comparable spatial pattern among the three wild soybean populations with similar Sp values (mean = 0.0734, varied from 0.0645 to 0.0943) detected across the three populations. Genetic patches were on average ca. 20 m in size, and the effective neighborhood sizes varied between 10 and 15 m. The spatial genetic structure evident in the wild soybean populations may be attributed to the restricted seed dispersal and predominant inbreeding mating system of this species. The detection of family structure in the populations of wild soybean has a significant implication for the effective conservation of the important genetic resources.
Soil phosphorus heterogeneity promotes tree species diversity and phylogenetic clustering in a tropical seasonal rainforest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-11-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.2529
Contrasting coarse and fine scale genetic structure among isolated relic populations of Kmeria septentrionalis
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-07-2010
DOI: 10.1007/S10709-010-9475-7
Abstract: Trees of the Magnoliaceae family are of scientific, cultural and socio-economic importance. Kmeria septentrionalis Dandy (Magnoliaceae) is a dioecious tree, found in small, isolated, relic populations in Southern China, and is subject to extensive protection due to its rarity and high economic values. To improve conservation outcomes and in particular, germplasm collection guidelines, information on spatial genetic structure of the species is required. In this study, we investigated the spatial genetic structure and genetic ersity of 161 in iduals of K. septentrionalis collected from five natural populations using AFLP molecular markers. Within-population genetic variation was measured, with percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) ranged from 63% to 87%, while H (S) (genetic ersity within population) varied from 0.185 to 0.244 with a mean of 0.215 ± 0.025. Significant genetic differentiations were revealed between pairwise populations, indicating each population existing as an independent evolutionarily significant unit. Mantel test results showed no pattern of isolation-by-distance among populations separated by large distance. Fine scale spatial patterns of genetic variation suggested significant effects of isolation-by-distance within population at distances of 22 m. The results of contrasting genetic structure at coarse and fine scale in K. septentrionalis may indicate restricted pollen flow and seed dispersal at fine scales, and separated evolution in isolated populations over long period of time at coarser scales. Finally, we make several suggestions for improved management practices that may assist in the conservation of this species.
The third dimension: How fire-related research can advance ecology and evolutionary biology
Publisher: Queen's University Library
Date: 21-12-2020
Abstract: Most of the Earth’s vegetated surface is fireprone but the relevance of fire in understanding how nature works is not always recognized. We aim to show that, by adding the fire dimension to observations on biological phenomena, interpretations can be im-proved how fire-related research can be used to answer ‘fundamental’ questions in ecology and how theories/models developed for fireprone ecosystems can be applied to advancing disturbance ecology, biogeography and evolutionary biology more generally. We compiled lists from the world-wide web of the most highly cited papers in fire ecology, and examined papers that had been approached from multiple viewpoints, including fire. We show that great advances over the last 20 years have been made in our understanding of the pivotal role of fire as a driver of many ecological processes and a powerful selective agent/evolutionary trigger among biota. We document 21 sets of observations originally interpreted in the context of the two traditional dimensions, prevailing environment and biotic interactions, but can also be shown to have a strong, if not dominant, historical link to fire. We note that fire-related research is able to address 55 of the 100 questions considered ‘fundamental’ in ecology and that many have already received some attention in fireprone ecosystems. We show how theories/ models that had their origins in fireprone systems can be applied to other disturbance-prone systems and thus have wide application in ecology and evolutionary biology. Fire and other disturbances should be included as variables in research about possible critical environmental and biotic constraints controlling ecosystem function in general. Adding this third dimension to research endeavours greatly enriches our understanding of how nature works at the global scale in an era where ecosystems are changing rapidly and novel species-environmental interactions are emerging.
Genetic and ecological consequences of interactions between three banksias in mediterranean‐type shrubland
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2013
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12113
Spatial Autocorrelation of Genetic Variation in Three Stands of Ophiopogon xylorrhizus(Liliaceaes.l. )
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-2000
Ex situ genetic conservation of endangered Vatica guangxiensis (Dipterocarpaceae) in China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2002
Migration potential as a new predictor of long-distance dispersal rate for plants
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-04-2011
Fitness benefits of serotiny in fire- and drought-prone environments
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-02-2016
Fire‐adapted traits of Pinus arose in the fiery Cretaceous
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-02-2012
DOI: 10.1111/J.1469-8137.2012.04079.X
Abstract: • The mapping of functional traits onto chronograms is an emerging approach for the identification of how agents of natural selection have shaped the evolution of organisms. Recent research has reported fire-dependent traits appearing among flowering plants from 60 million yr ago (Ma). Although there are many records of fossil charcoal in the Cretaceous (65-145 Ma), evidence of fire-dependent traits evolving in that period is lacking. • We link the evolutionary trajectories for five fire-adapted traits in Pinaceae with paleoatmospheric conditions over the last 250 million yr to determine the time at which fire originated as a selective force in trait evolution among seed plants. • Fire-protective thick bark originated in Pinus c. 126 Ma in association with low-intensity surface fires. More intense crown fires emerged c. 89 Ma coincident with thicker bark and branch shedding, or serotiny with branch retention as an alternative strategy. These innovations appeared at the same time as the Earth's paleoatmosphere experienced elevated oxygen levels that led to high burn probabilities during the mid-Cretaceous. • The fiery environments of the Cretaceous strongly influenced trait evolution in Pinus. Our evidence for a strong correlation between the evolution of fire-response strategies and changes in fire regime 90-125 Ma greatly backdates the key role that fire has played in the evolution of seed plants.
Genetic Evaluation of the Efficacy of In Situ and Ex Situ Conservation of Parashorea chinensis (Dipterocarpaceae) in Southwestern China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-2005
DOI: 10.1007/S10528-005-6778-Y
Abstract: The majority of research in genetic ersity yields recommendations rather than actual conservation achievements. We assessed the efficacy of actual in situ and ex situ efforts to conserve Parashorea chinensis (Dipterocarpaceae) against the background of the geographic pattern of genetic variation of this species. S les from seven natural populations, including three in a nature reserve, and one ex situ conservation population were studied. Across the natural populations, 47.8% of RAPD loci were polymorphic only 20.8% on average varied at the population level. Mean population genetic ersity was 0.787 within natural populations and 1.410 for the whole species. Significant genetic differentiation among regions and isolation by distance were present on larger scales (among regions). AMOVA revealed that the majority of the among-population variation occurred among regions rather than among populations within regions. Regression analysis, Mantel test, principal coordinates analysis, and cluster analysis consistently demonstrated increasing genetic isolation with increasing geographic distance. Genetic differentiation within the region was quite low compared to that among regions. Multilocus spatial autocorrelation analysis of these three populations revealed random distribution of genetic variation in two populations, but genetic clustering was detected in the third population. The ex situ conserved population contained a medium level of genetic variation compared with the seven natural populations it contained 77.1% of the total genetic variation of this species and 91% of the moderate to high frequency RAPD fragments (f > 0.05). Exclusive bands were detected in natural populations, but none were found in the ex situ conserved population. The populations protected in the nature reserve contained most of the genetic variation of the whole species, with 81.4% of the total genetic variation and 95.7% of the fragments with moderate to high frequency (f > 0.05) of this species conserved. The results show that the ex situ conserved population does not contain enough genetic variation to meet the need of release in the future, and that more extensive ex situ s ling in natural populations TY, NP, HK, and MG is needed. The in situ conserved population contains representative genetic variation to maintain long-term survival and evolutionary processes of P. chinensis.
Traditional home-garden conserving genetic diversity: a case study of Acacia pennata in southwest China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-04-2012
Temporal patterns of genetic variation across a 9‐year‐old aerial seed bank of the shrub Banksia hookeriana (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-10-2005
A Cretaceous origin for fire adaptations in the Cape flora
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-10-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP34880
Abstract: Fire has had a profound effect on the evolution of worldwide biotas. The Cape Floristic Region is one of the world’s most species-rich regions, yet it is highly prone to recurrent fires and fire-adapted species contribute strongly to the overall flora. It is hypothesized that the current fire regimes in the Cape could be as old as 6–8 million years (My), while indirect evidence indicates that the onset of fire could have reached 18 million years ago (Ma). Here, we trace the origin of fire-dependent traits in two monocot families that are significant elements in the fire-prone Cape flora. Our analysis shows that fire-stimulated flowering originated in the Cape Haemodoraceae 81 Ma, while fire-stimulated germination arose in the African Restionaceae at least 70 Ma, implying that wildfires have been a significant force in the evolution of the Cape flora at least 60 My earlier than previous estimates. Our results provide strong evidence for the presence of fire adaptations in the Cape from the Cretaceous, leading to the extraordinary persistence of a fire-adapted flora in this bio ersity hotspot, and giving support to the hypothesis that Cretaceous fire was a global phenomenon that shaped the evolution of terrestrial floras.
Harness the power of genomic selection and the potential of germplasm in crop breeding for global food security in the era with rapid climate change
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Anthropogenic disturbance promotes hybridization between Banksia species by altering their biology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-06-2003
DOI: 10.1046/J.1420-9101.2003.00548.X
Abstract: Putative hybrids between Banksia hookeriana and B. prionotes were identified among 12 of 106 populations of B. hookeriana located at or near anthropogenically disturbed sites, mainly roadways, but none in 156 undisturbed populations. Morphometrics and AFLP markers confirmed that a hybrid swarm existed in a selected disturbed habitat, whereas no intermediates were present where the two species co-occurred in undisturbed vegetation. In iduals of both species in disturbed habitats at 12 sites were more vigorous, with greater size and more flower heads than their counterparts in undisturbed vegetation. These more fecund plants also showed a shift in season and duration of flowering. By promoting earlier flowering of B. hookeriana plants and prolonging flowering of B. prionotes, anthropogenic disturbance broke the phenological barrier between these two species. We conclude that anthropogenic disturbance promotes hybridization through increasing opportunities for gene flow by reducing interpopulation separation, increasing gamete production and, especially, promoting coflowering.
Organic tracers from biomass burning in snow from the coast to the ice sheet summit of East Antarctica
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
Reply to ‘No evidence for different metabolism in domestic mammals’
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-02-2019
Small-seeded Hakea species tolerate cotyledon loss better than large-seeded congeners
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-01-2017
DOI: 10.1038/SREP41520
Abstract: Six Hakea species varying greatly in seed size were selected for cotyledon damage experiments. The growth of seedlings with cotyledons partially or completely removed was monitored over 90 days. All seedlings perished by the fifth week when both cotyledons were removed irrespective of seed size. Partial removal of cotyledons caused a significant delay in the emergence of the first leaf, and reduction in root and shoot growth of the large-seeded species. The growth of seedlings of small-seeded species was less impacted by cotyledon damage. The rate of survival, root and shoot lengths and dry biomass of the seedlings were determined after 90 days. When seedlings were treated with balanced nutrient solutions following removal of the cotyledons, survival was 95–98%, but 0% when supplied with nutrient solutions lacking N or P or with water only. The addition of a balanced nutrient solution failed to restore complete growth of any species, but the rate of root elongation for the small-seeded species was maintained. Cotyledons provide nutrients to support early growth of Hakea seedlings, but other physiological roles for the cotyledons are also implicated. In conclusion, small-seeded Hakea species can tolerate cotyledons loss better than large-seeded species.
Fire as a pre-emptive evolutionary trigger among seed plants
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
African geoxyles evolved in response to fire; frost came later
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-05-2017
Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-12-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-021-01616-8
Abstract: Plant functional traits can predict community assembly and ecosystem functioning and are thus widely used in global models of vegetation dynamics and land–climate feedbacks. Still, we lack a global understanding of how land and climate affect plant traits. A previous global analysis of six traits observed two main axes of variation: (1) size variation at the organ and plant level and (2) leaf economics balancing leaf persistence against plant growth potential. The orthogonality of these two axes suggests they are differently influenced by environmental drivers. We find that these axes persist in a global dataset of 17 traits across more than 20,000 species. We find a dominant joint effect of climate and soil on trait variation. Additional independent climate effects are also observed across most traits, whereas independent soil effects are almost exclusively observed for economics traits. Variation in size traits correlates well with a latitudinal gradient related to water or energy limitation. In contrast, variation in economics traits is better explained by interactions of climate with soil fertility. These findings have the potential to improve our understanding of bio ersity patterns and our predictions of climate change impacts on biogeochemical cycles.
Ants cannot account for interpopulation dispersal of the arillate pea Daviesia triflora
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-11-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1469-8137.2008.02686.X
Abstract: Estimating distances and rates of seed dispersal, especially long-distance dispersal (LDD), is critical for understanding the dynamics of patchily distributed populations and species' range shifts in response to environmental change. Daviesia triflora (Papilionaceae) is an ant-dispersed shrub. The ant Rhytidoponera violacea was recorded dispersing its seeds to a maximum distance of 4.7 m, and in more intensive trials seeds of a related species from the study area, to a maximum of 8.1 m. Microsatellite DNA markers and population assignment tests identified interpopulation immigrants among 764 plants on 23 adjacent dunes bearing D. triflora, and 13 interpopulation seed dispersal (LDD) events (1.7%) were inferred. The distance between source and sink populations ranged from 410 m to 2350 m (mean 1260 m). These distances exceed ant dispersal distances by two to three orders of magnitude but are comparable with previous measurements of LDD for two co-occurring wing-seeded (wind-dispersed) species from the same system. The observed distances of seed dispersal in this arillate species demonstrate the significance of nonstandard dispersal mechanisms in LDD and the independence of these from primary dispersal syndromes. The likely role of emus in dispersal of the many 'ant-dispersed' species in Australia is discussed.
Genetic solutions through breeding counteract climate change and secure barley production in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Soil properties and agricultural practices shape microbial communities in flooded and rainfed croplands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.TPLANTS.2016.11.004
Abstract: Fire as a major evolutionary force has been disputed because it is considered to lack supporting evidence. If a trait has evolved in response to selection by fire then the environment of the plant must have been fire-prone before the appearance of that trait. Using outcomes of trait assignments applied to molecular phylogenies for fire-stimulated flowering, seed-release, and germination, in this Opinion article we show that fire-proneness precedes, or rarely coincides with, the evolution of these fire-adapted traits. In addition, fire remains central to understanding germination promoted by smoke among species occurring in non-fire-prone environments because of the historical association of their clade with fire. Fire-mimicking selection and associated exaptations have no place in understanding the evolution of fire-adapted traits because we find no support for any reversal in the fire-trait sequence through time.
Long‐distance seed dispersal in a metapopulation of Banksia hookeriana inferred from a population allocation analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism data
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-02-2004
Combustion temperatures and nutrient transfers when grasstrees burn
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Resprouters, assisted by somatic mutations, are as genetically diverse as nonsprouters in the world's fire-prone ecosystems
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Genome-wide association studies reveal QTL hotspots for grain brightness and black point traits in barley
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
Patchy plant distribution promotes invasion by exotics in south‐western Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-03-2008
Polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for Banksia hookeriana (Proteaceae)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-10-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1755-0998.2008.02348.X
Abstract: We developed 11 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers for an Australian native shrub Banksia hookeriana (Proteaceae). The number of alleles per locus in 37 in iduals varied from three to 17, observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.297 to 0.838 and from 0.279 to 0.900, respectively. Two loci (BH-B5 and BH-B107) showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P < 0.05), and null alleles may be present at these two loci. All loci showed independent inheritance.
Phenotypic variation and differentiated gene expression of Australian plants in response to declining rainfall
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 11-2016
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.160637
Abstract: Declining rainfall is projected to have negative impacts on the demographic performance of plant species. Little is known about the adaptive capacity of species to respond to drying climates, and whether adaptation can keep pace with climate change. In fire-prone ecosystems, episodic recruitment of perennial plant species in the first year post-fire imposes a specific selection environment, offering a unique opportunity to quantify the scope for adaptive response to climate change. We examined the growth of seedlings of four fire-killed species under control and drought conditions for seeds from populations established in years following fire receiving average-to-above-average winter rainfall, or well-below-average winter rainfall. We show that offspring of plants that had established under drought had more efficient water uptake, and/or stored more water per unit biomass, or developed denser leaves, and all maintained higher survival in simulated drought than did offspring of plants established in average annual rainfall years. Adaptive phenotypic responses were not consistent across all traits and species, while plants that had established under severe drought or established in years with average-to-above-average rainfall had an overall different physiological response when growing either with or without water constraints. Seedlings descended from plants established under severe drought also had elevated gene expression in key pathways relating to stress response. Our results demonstrate the capacity for rapid adaptation to climate change through phenotypic variation and regulation of gene expression. However, effective and rapid adaptation to climate change may vary among species depending on their capacity to maintain robust populations under multiple stresses.
When did a Mediterranean-type climate originate in southwestern Australia?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Genetic Evaluation of in situ Conserved and Reintroduced Populations of Wild Rice (Oryza rufipogon: Poaceae) in China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2005
DOI: 10.1007/S10528-005-9114-7
Abstract: We evaluated the genetic consequences and efficiency of conservation practices in Oryza rufipogon using microsatellite DNA markers. Spatial autocorrelation analysis from 12 microsatellite loci revealed that microsatellite alleles were exclusively distributed in patches within the population, indicating that large populations were unlikely to be homogeneous. An in situ conserved stand of O. rufipogon, which has been protected by a concrete wall from a large population, captured only 67.9% of the total genetic variation of the previous large population. The concrete wall was built to protect the wild rice, but it acted more as a physical barrier to gene exchanges between the two sides. An assignment test revealed only 11.1% putative seed exchanges across the wall. A reintroduced population was found to be genetically very erse. About 76.3% of the total genetic variation detected in other populations was captured in this reintroduced population, and 24.8% of the total genetic variation in this population was not found in other populations. These results display two important findings for conservation of O. rufipogon. First, conserving one part of a large population of O. rufipogon will not preserve an adequate s le of the genetic variability, since populations are not homogeneous, and genotype distribution varies among localities. Second, a reintroduced population is not genetically depauperate, but it is too early to assess its long-term survival.
Late Quaternary climate change and spatial genetic structure in the shrub Banksia hookeriana
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-03-2006
Whole‐genome assembly and resequencing reveal genomic imprint and key genes of rapid domestication in narrow‐leafed lupin
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-01-2021
DOI: 10.1111/TPJ.15100
Dealing with ‘the spectre of spurious correlations': hazards in comparing ratios and other derived variables with a randomization test to determine if a biological interpretation is justified
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-09-2021
DOI: 10.1111/OIK.08575
Abstract: We note the continuing widespread use of regressions of mathematically dependent (derived or confounded) variables [e.g. comparisons of standardized ratios: X/Y versus Z/Y, or the part versus the whole: X versus (X + Y)] in all disciplines of biology and ecology. These may lead to ‘spurious' correlations as even random numbers would produce similarly statistically significant results. We developed a randomization test to determine the probability of obtaining the observed correlation coefficient by chance alone. Only if the regression remains statistically significant after the results of the randomization test are taken into account (random coefficient subtracted from the observed coefficient) is any sort of biological interpretation justified. We demonstrate that the often compared expressions, ln[(Y + X)/X] (e.g. relative growth rate) versus lnX (e.g. original mass), are negatively and significantly correlated whatever values of X and Y are used thus, conclusions from such comparisons that seedlings from smaller seeds grow faster than from larger seeds are spurious. Derived variables are only likely to be meaningfully correlated if X and Y are correlated from the outset and the researcher can then decide if the ‘actual' derived relationship is worth reporting.
Fine scale genetic structure in a wild soybean (Glycine soja) population and the implications for conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2003
Ecological divergence and evolutionary transition of resprouting types in B anksia attenuata
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-07-2014
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.1143
Distribution of myrmecochorous species over the landscape and their potential long‐distance dispersal by emus and kangaroos
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-07-2007
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Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP130103029
Start Date: 05-2013
End Date: 09-2016
Amount: $420,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP120103389
Start Date: 03-2012
End Date: 09-2015
Amount: $310,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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