| Grant number: | 13/11706-1 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | November 01, 2013 |
| Effective date (End): | July 31, 2018 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Botany |
| Principal Investigator: | Lúcia Garcez Lohmann |
| Grantee: | Verônica Aydos Thode |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach, AP.BTA.TEM |
| Associated scholarship(s): | 15/26884-8 - Phylogenomics and spatio-temporal evolution of Amphilophium (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae), BE.EP.PD |
Abstract The fact that some lineages present hundreds of species while others present just a few has intrigued biologists and evolutionists in the last years. Such variation in species richness between clades results from a series of biological, historical, and geographical aspects that impact directly the rates of diversification and extinction across lineages. Thus, a better comprehension of the patterns and causes of the changes in diversification rates are crucial to understand the origin and maintenance of the biological diversity. The present project aims to reconstruct the phylogeny of Amphilophium (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae, Lamiales), a very diverse genus of Neotropical lianas, to explore the influence of "key innovations" (i.e., morphological novelties) and/or "key opportunities" (i.e., occupation of new niches) in the rates of diversification within the lineages of the genus. The existence of recent taxonomic literature for the group, associated with the interesting patterns of morphological variation, geographical distribution of the species, and the availability of good fossil records to calibrate the phylogeny, make the genus an excellent model for diversification, morphological and biogeographical studies in the Neotropical region. This proposal is part of a broader project that uses different organisms to study the assembly of the Amazonian Biota and its environment (FAPESP Processo 2012/50260-6), where the genus Amphilophium is particularly diverse. (AU) | |