Plant morphological adaptations to the montane areas of the Espinhaço Range: Tibouchina (Melastomataceae) as a study case

• Grant number: 18/24858-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2019
• End date: January 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany
• Principal Investigator: José Rubens Pirani
• Grantee: Mirian de Camargo Andrade Antonicelli
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Montane ecosystems are environments of exceptional biodiversity. In these areas, non-related plant species are observed to present analogous morphological adaptations through convergence to similar environmental pressures along evolution. This is also observed in the flora of the Espinhaço Range, a mountain chain harbouring a xeromorphic vegetation and outstanding species richness in Eastern Brazil. This project aims to investigate convergence of morphological features in plants of this ecosystem, using the evolutionary context of a clade of Tibouchina (Melastomataceae) as a study case. This clade is endemic to the Eastern Brazil, presents several independent events of colonization to the area of the Espinhaço Range and a wide morphological variation in vegetative traits. To investigate how the environment selects these traits over time, we will collect data for six discrete and six continuous vegetative characters using herbarium material for 61 species in this clade (c. 55% of the total species richness), among which 19 occur in the Espinhaço Range. Moreover, we will annotate the altitude and habitat (mesic or xeric) in which the species occur to test which of these environmental variables are correlated with changes in the morphological traits investigated here using comparative phylogenetic methods. We will further analyse these traits in a phylomorphospace framework, highlighting convergences in morphology and specializations through time. Also, we will perform ancestral state reconstructions to test which individual traits change first after colonization of the Espinhaço Range. The results will be discussed in the context of plant adaptations to montane ecosystems and will be made available in online databases for functional traits in order to be also used by future studies.