Evolution of scaly tree ferns (Cyatheaceae) in Madagascar and adjacent regions

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Harald Schneider
• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: from 2006 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 21868563

Madagascar is renowned for its species richness, distinctiveness of its flora, and high rate of endemism in vascular plants including ferns. About 50 species of scaly tree ferns occur in Madagascar and adjacent islands. They can be ascribed to five morphologically distinct groups all belonging to the pantropical genus Alsophila. In this project, we explore (1) the monophyly of these hypothetical groups, (2) the relationships among these groups and to non-Madagascan species of Alsophila, (3) putative colonization events of Madagascar from Africa or Australasia, and (4) Madagascan radiations of one or more of these putative groups. A further objective is the reconstruction of dispersal and speciation history of the Mascarene endemic species (3-5 spp.). These objectives will be achieved by (1) generating nucleotide sequences of four cpDNA and three nrDNA markers, (2) reconstructing a species level phylogeny, (3) inferring ancestral areas for each clade by biogeographic analysis, and (4) estimating divergence times. The extant tree fern diversity in this region is either the result of a long isolation after the split of Gondwana and / or radiations following colonization via long-distance dispersal from Africa, Australasia, or the Neotropics. Tree ferns as inefficient long distance dispersers with fossils dating back to the Jurassic are a predestined model system to sustain or reject these hypotheses.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1127: Radiations - Origins of Biological Diversity