| Abstract Detail
Conservation Biology Hartley , Nathan P. [1], Hardy, Christopher R. [2]. Phytophylogenetics in Pennsylvanian Wetlands. Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic habitats that provide numerous ecological services and host a great breadth of biodiversity. Although wetlands only comprise a mere 2.5% of the total area in Pennsylvania, these habitats harbor over one-fifth (22.1%) of the state’s native plant species, and over one-fourth (28.3%) of all rare, threatened, or otherwise endangered species within the state. Monocots are disproportionately abundant in the Pennsylvanian obligate wetland flora and account for over half (54.1%) of vascular plant diversity, compared to 33.4% in the native Pennsylvanian flora, and ca.19% globally. Herein we’ve applied the 2013 National Wetland Indicator Statuses to the native flora of Pennsylvania for the first time, and evaluated their membership in five major clades or grades as a means to identify phylogenetic patterns within monocots with regards to hydrologic specialization in comparison to other higher taxonomic groupings. The diminishment of monocot diversity from obligate to upland habitats as eudicot diversity reciprocally increases is a pattern seen in the total native flora and generally within Pennsylvania’s endangered, threatened, and rare taxa as a whole. Obligate monocots are more diverse than upland monocots in terms of species richness, ordinal richness, and phylogenetic breadth than upland monocots. Poales comprise over half of the obligate and upland monocot floras, but obligate poalean taxa exhibit much greater diversity in terms of species richness, familial richness, and phyogenetic breadth. These findings underscore the importance with which wetlands contribute to the diversity of the Pennsylvania flora and provide greater clarity regarding the taxonomic and phylogenetic reasons for the pursuance of their protection from anthropogenic threats.
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1 - Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Biology, 101 East Cottage Avenue, Millersville, PA, 17551, USA
2 - James C. Parks Herbarium, Department of Biology
Keywords:
Pennsylvania
phylogenetic diversity
wetland.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 16
Location: Firs North/Boise Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 29th, 2014
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: 16001
Abstract ID:801
Candidate for Awards:None |
