ID: 613 / 20

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: BIOGEOGRAPHY AND DIVERSIFICATION OF INTERCONTINENTAL TROPICAL PLANT DIVERSITY. SESSION 1

Abstract: The tropics is an epicenter of plant diversity, yet our understanding of the macroevolutionary and biogeographic processes that generated this diversity are limited, and generally restricted to regional or single continental studies. However, the advancement of phylogenomics, better integration of fossil data, improvements of global paleoclimate models and access to big biodiversity data, now enable multi-continental approaches leading to more unified theories of tropical biodiversity generation. We aim to assemble presentations that address biogeography and/or diversification of tropical plants at global or intercontinental scales. We seek studies that are interdisciplinary using phylogenetics/phylogenomics, fossil, trait, ecological or paleoclimatic data or plant-animal interactions to explain patterns of tropical plant diversity. For example, studies comparing the processes of plant diversity generation between similar ecosystems in different tropical continents. The goal is to provide an overview of studies addressing plant diversification and ultimately unify theories across continents. The objective will be to gather people with different geographical perspectives but similar interests to interact. We shall make an effort to look for potential new synergies. The tropics provide a source to understand plant evolution in general, thus the theories and results presented in this symposium will be relevant to IBC attendees working inside and outside the tropics.

Speaker 1: Speaker: Elizabeth M. Joyce Affiliation: Systematik, Biodiversität & Evolution der Pflanzen, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80638 Munich, Germany Email: e.joyce@lmu.de Talk title: The continental exchange events that shaped tropical biodiversity

Speaker 2: Speaker: Wolf L. Eiserhardt Affiliation: Department of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark Email: wolf.eiserhardt@bio.au.dk Talk title: Insights into tropical rainforest evolution from species-level palm phylogenomics: closing the Neogene knowledge gap

Speaker 3: Speaker: Renske E. Onstein Affiliation: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands Email: onsteinre@gmail.com Talk title: The biogeography of tropical plants with megafaunal fruits

Topics (Up to three): Macroevolution

Topic 2: Biogeography

Topic 3: Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics

Justification: Our symposium will bring together different ICB2024 topics, namely Biogeography (3), Macroevolution (19), Paleobotany (20), Phylogenomics (22) and Plants-animal interactions (24). The symposium will be of interest to a wide audience because of its intercontinental/global scale and different tropical ecosystem focus. We will select a balance between gender, global south and north, early and advanced career level and as well geographic origin of the speakers.