Dynamics of neotropical plant diversification
Plant Systematics and Evolution
Geotemporal patterns of plant species diversification and the causes of differences in species richness among clades and geographic areas remain poorly understood. We are investigating patterns and processes underlying the historical assembly of plant species diversity in the neotropics, the most diverse continent where several of the world’s hottest plant diversity hotspots occur. We are using time-calibrated species-level phylogenies for a number of legume study groups, alongside geographical and broad-scale ecological data to investigate the dynamics of diversification. Recent work has looked at plant diversification in the high elevation Andes, seasonally dry neotropical forests, and the Cerrado biome of central South America. Accurate delimitation of species, via revisionary taxonomy and taxonomic monography are pivotal for the large scale evolutionary studies that we are undertaking, and several taxonomic monographic projects are in progress.
Research topics
Systematics and biogeography of Legumes
Taxonomic monographs of Leucaena & Lupinus
Historical assembly of neotropical plant species diversity
Polyploidy and hybridization in Leucaena
Early crop domestication in Mesoamerica and the Andes
Interdisciplinary
Plant taxonomy
Systematic botany
Plant phylogenetics
Multi-locus gene tree approaches to interspecific hybridization
Historical biogeography
Crop evolution and domestication
