Publication details
Do phylogenetic community metrics reveal the South African quartz fields as terrestrial-habitat islands?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Annals of Botany |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae027 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae027 |
| Keywords | Aizoaceae; Asteraceae; community phylogenetics; Crassulaceae; Cyperaceae; Fabaceae; phylogenetic diversity; Santalaceae; specialized taxa |
| Description | center dot Background and Aims The quartz fields of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) are arid and island-like special habitats, hosting similar to 142 habitat-specialized plant species, of which 81 % are local endemics, characterized by a rapid turnover of species between and among sites. We use several phylogenetic community metrics: (1) to examine species diversity and phylogenetic structure within and among quartz fields; (2) to investigate whether quartz field specialists are evolutionarily drawn from local species pools, whereas the alternative hypothesis posits that there is no significant evolutionary connection between quartz field specialists and the local species pools; and (3) to determine whether there is an association between certain traits and the presence of species in quartz fields. |