Abstract Detail

Pacific Biogeography

Appelhans, Marc [1], Paetzold, Claudia [2], Wood, Kenneth R. [3], Wagner, Warren [4].

Phylogenetic reconstruction and identification of biogeographical patterns of Hawaiian Myrsine (Primulaceae, Myrsinoideae) based on RADseq data.

Myrsine ranks among the largest genera of the primrose family (Primulaceae s.l.) and its +/- 200 species are distributed in subtropical and tropical areas worldwide except Europe. A particularly high number of species are found in the Pacific area. The largest of these pacific radiations is that of the Hawaiian Archipelago which consists of 19 endemic species. Myrsine has colonized all major Hawaiian Islands except Kaho?olawe and Ni?ihau and is most diverse on Kaua?i (14 species, 10 of them endemic) and O?ahu (8 species, 2 endemic). While many species have a very narrow distribution and show little morphological variability, M. lessertiana is extremely variable. Several subspecies and varieties have been described for this species, and populations that show intermediate characters with other species have been observed. The genus Myrsine and especially the Hawaiian taxa have been largely neglected by systematists and virtually nothing is known about their relationships among each other. Not a single DNA sequence of the Hawaiian species has been deposited at Genbank so far. Our study aims at resolving the phylogenetic history and the inter-island colonization pattern of Hawaiian Myrsine. Since other examples of radiations from the Hawaiian Islands have shown that Sanger sequencing does in most cases not deliver enough information to untangle phylogenetic relationships at the species level, we decided to use next-generation sequencing (RADseq; restriction-site associated DNA sequencing). Our taxon sampling includes all but one species of Hawaiian Myrsine as well as M. africana and two species of Ardisia as outgroups. Seven specimens of the variable M. lessertiana were sampled from all major islands. Our results show completely resolved and fully supported phylogenetic trees, providing evidence that the method is very well suited to study recent and rapid island radiations. Hawaiian Myrsine consist of four main clades of with three contain mainly widespread taxa and one clade that included all Kauaian endemics. Myrsine lessertiana is resolved as polyphyletic which reflects the highly variable morphology and overlapping characters with other species.

1 - University Of Goettingen, Untere Karspuele 2, Goettingen, 37073.0, Germany
2 - Albrecht-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants, Untere Karspüle 2, Goettingen, Lower Saxony, 37073, Germany
3 - National Tropical Botanical Garden, 3530 Papalina Road, Kalaheo, HI, 96741, USA
4 - Smithsonian Institution, Department Of Botany, MRC-166, P. O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013, United States

Keywords:
Hawaii
island biogeography
Myrsine
Kolea
RADseq.

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: C12, Pacific biogeography
Location: 103/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Wednesday, July 25th, 2018
Time: 2:00 PM
Number: C12002
Abstract ID:214
Candidate for Awards:None