Depth-Assisted Semantic Segmentation, Image Enhancement and Parametric Modeling

This dissertation addresses the problem of employing 3D depth information on solving a number of traditional challenging computer vision/graphics problems. Humans have the abilities of perceiving the depth information in 3D world, which enable humans to reconstruct layouts, recognize objects and understand the geometric space and semantic meanings of the visual world. Therefore it is significant to explore how the 3D depth information can be utilized by computer vision systems to mimic such abilities of humans. This dissertation aims at employing 3D depth information to solve vision/graphics problems in the following aspects: scene understanding, image enhancements and 3D reconstruction and modeling. In addressing scene understanding problem, we present a framework for semantic segmentation and object recognition on urban video sequence only using dense depth maps recovered from the video. Five view-independent 3D features that vary with object class are extracted from dense depth maps and used for segmenting and recognizing different object classes in street scene images. We demonstrate a scene parsing algorithm that uses only dense 3D depth information to outperform using sparse 3D or 2D appearance features. In addressing image enhancement problem, we present a framework to overcome the imperfections of personal photographs of tourist sites using the rich information provided by large-scale internet photo collections (IPCs). By augmenting personal 2D images with 3D information reconstructed from IPCs, we address a number of traditionally challenging image enhancement techniques and achieve high-quality results using simple and robust algorithms. In addressing 3D reconstruction and modeling problem, we focus on parametric modeling of flower petals, the most distinctive part of a plant. The complex structure, severe occlusions and wide variations make the reconstruction of their 3D models a challenging task. We overcome these challenges by combining data driven modeling techniques with domain knowledge from botany. Taking a 3D point cloud of an input flower scanned from a single view, each segmented petal is fitted with a scale-invariant morphable petal shape model, which is constructed from individually scanned 3D exemplar petals. Novel constraints based on botany studies are incorporated into the fitting process for realistically reconstructing occluded regions and maintaining correct 3D spatial relations. The main contribution of the dissertation is in the intelligent usage of 3D depth information on solving traditional challenging vision/graphics problems. By developing some advanced algorithms either automatically or with minimum user interaction, the goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate that computed 3D depth behind the multiple images contains rich information of the visual world and therefore can be intelligently utilized to recognize/ understand semantic meanings of scenes, efficiently enhance and augment single 2D images, and reconstruct high-quality 3D models

Modelling and Simulation of Lily flowers using PDE Surfaces

This paper presents a partial differential equation (PDE)-based surface modelling and simulation framework for lily flowers. We use a PDE-based surface modelling technique to represent shape of a lily flower and PDE-based dynamic simulation to animate blossom and decay processes of lily flowers. To this aim, we first automatically construct the geometry of lily flowers from photos to obtain feature curves. Second, we apply a PDE-based surface modelling technique to generate sweeping surfaces to obtain geometric models of the flowers. Then, we use a physics-driven and data-based method and introduce the flower shapes at the initial and final positions into our proposed dynamic deformation model to generate a realistic deformation of flower blossom and decay. The results demonstrate that our proposed technique can create realistic flower models and their movements and shape changes against time efficiently with a small data size

Demography and Evolutionary Ecology of the Carnivorous Subshrub Drosophyllum lusitanicum (L.) Link (Drosophyllaceae)

Natural disturbances occur in various ecosystems and have resulted in the evolution of life histories to buffer or even benefit from disturbance regimes. However, human activities increasingly interact with natural disturbances, posing potentially significant threats to the viability of disturbance-adapted species and therefore causing biodiviersity loss. With fires regularly affecting 50 % of the Eath’s surface, such compounded effects of disturbance interactions are particularly prominent in fire-prone ecosystems. Using the rare carnivorous subshrub Drosophyllum lusitanicum (Drosophyllaceae), endemic to Mediterranean heathlands under increasing human pressure in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco, this doctoral work illustrates how interactions between fire and small-scale human disturbances affect population dynamics and the potential evolutionary trajectory of populations. Greenhouse and in-situ field experiments and stochastic demographic models quantified biological and ecological characteristics of the study species that could be linked to an important, positive role of recurrent fires in population dynamics. At the same time, population censuses across the species range revealed that small-scale human disturbances related to removal of competitively superior shrub neighbors significantly increased the probability of population occurrence and the abundance of several life-cycle stages. Subsequently, stochastic integral projection models confirmed that moderate interactions between human and fire disturbances may significantly improve species viability in the absence of fires. However, a crucial finding of this work was that frequent human disturbances as well as frequent interactions between fires and chronic vegetation removal may be detrimental to population viability because the two fundamentally different disturbance types exert opposing selection pressures on populations. These findings are of potentially great importance for the management of disturbance-adapted species because they highlight the importance of including compounding effects of environmental drivers into demographic models and the need to consider the local disturbance history when designing conservation strategies of species exposed to various disturbance types

Macroevolutionary dynamics of nectar spurs, a key evolutionary innovation.

Floral nectar spurs are widely considered a key innovation promoting diversification in angiosperms by means of pollinator shifts. We investigated the macroevolutionary dynamics of nectar spurs in the tribe Antirrhineae (Plantaginaceae), which contains 29 genera and 300-400 species (70-80% spurred). The effect of nectar spurs on diversification was tested, with special focus on Linaria, the genus with the highest number of species. We generated the most comprehensive phylogeny of Antirrhineae to date and reconstructed the evolution of nectar spurs. Diversification rate heterogeneity was investigated using trait-dependent and trait-independent methods, and accounting for taxonomic uncertainty. The association between changes in spur length and speciation was examined within Linaria using model testing and ancestral state reconstructions. We inferred four independent acquisitions of nectar spurs. Diversification analyses revealed that nectar spurs are loosely associated with increased diversification rates. Detected rate shifts were delayed by 5-15 Myr with respect to the acquisition of the trait. Active evolution of spur length, fitting a speciational model, was inferred in Linaria, which is consistent with a scenario of pollinator shifts driving diversification. Nectar spurs played a role in diversification of the Antirrhineae, but diversification dynamics can only be fully explained by the complex interaction of multiple biotic and abiotic factors.This work was supported by the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship LINARIA-SPECIATION (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, reference 624396), an Isaac Newton Trust Research Grant (Trinity College, Cambridge), a Juan de la Cierva fellowship to M.F.-M. (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, reference IJCI-2015-23459) and a Generalitat Valenciana postdoctoral grant to A.J. (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, reference BEST/2014/264)

Systematics and evolution of Leandra s.str. (Melastomataceae, Miconieae)

Phylogenetic studies in the Melastomataceae have demonstrated the need of taxonomic rearrangements in the current classification. Melastomes are among the most diverse groups of plants and several cases of known artificial taxa are observed and awaiting further resolution. One example is the Leandra s.str. clade, which includes the majority of the taxa traditionally treated in the genus Leandra. Some attempts have been made to infer the relationships of Leandra s.str., but the sampling in these earlier studies was sparse and the resolution low inside the clade. The main objective here is to propose a comprehensive phylogenetic framework for this group to address evolutionary questions regarding morphology and biogeography. In Chapter 1, using a species tree approach, I present a phylogenetic hypothesis for Leandra s.str. and discuss incongruent patterns across gene trees and putative processes leading to them. The genus Leandra has been scarcely studied since a review in the 19th Century, and information such as overall distribution, anatomy, cytology, morphology, and even taxonomy is very limited. In Chapter 2, chromosome counts for some species of Leandra s.str. are provided, while in Chapter 6 a taxonomic review of Leandra sect. Leandra is presented and driven by the phylogenetic hypothesis of Chapter 1. The diversity and evolution of flowers in the Leandra s.str. clade is the topic of Chapter 3. Several question regarding the evolution of floral traits are addressed on a continuous framework using comparative phylogenetic methods. Leandra s.str. is nearly restricted to eastern Brazil, and the biogeography of the group is discussed in Chapters 4 and 5. In the former, I investigate disjunct patterns and distributional ranges and their relationship with climatic variables, focusing in the species that occurs outside eastern Brazil. In Chapter 5, I reconstruct the historical biogeography of Leandra s.str., proposing discrete biogeographical areas for ancestral distribution estimation, explore the climatic evolution and discuss the role of sympatry/allopatry in this group

Does Selection or Plasticity by UV-B Radiation Drive Variation in UV-Absorbing Area of Flowers?

This thesis will be set out in five chapters. The first outlines the introduction and the rationale of the research. Chapters 2-4 describe and discuss the methods and results of the three component studies in detail. Chapter 2 is written in the style of a manuscript for New Phytologist, and Chapters 3 and 4 are written in the style of the Journal of Experimental Botany. The intent is for these chapters to be edited and submitted for publication at a later date. The final chapter summarizes and discusses the findings of the three studies as a whole, before concluding the thesi

Simulation des plantes à fleurs

Plants have always intrigued scientists as besides of its sheer importance for the earth, their beauty and enormous variety of shapes tempt to thoroughly inquire about its nature. One of the aspects of this inquiry is the creation of the virtual model in order to mimic real plants to a high degree of accuracy. The focus of our study is the flowering plants, which play a huge role in our life from nutritive and medical purposes to beautifying the environment. Obtaining an accurate geometrical model of a flower is quite useful as it plays an important role in the validation of the virtual model. Besides, the visualization of parameters not traceable directly in living flowering plants is a stand-by in studying their physiology. A huge biological diversity both within and between individuals provides a vast area of objectives which the image synthesis must challenge.Flower modelling constitutes a part of a larger research area, plant modelling. Flowering plants have their particular structural features which are different from the structure of trees, bushes or grass. Still not a lot of emphasis has been placed to date on this problem, as it was categorized within the modelling of plants in general. We chose a procedural modeling using L-systems as a base of our research. L-system is a very powerful method of plant simulation. It provides a means of characterizing the topology of a plant at every stage of its growth. Grasping the plant structure with just several lines of grammar attracted immediate interest and later on evolved into several powerful geometrical interpretation system used in plant modelling. Our purpose is to study efficient ways of describing the structure of flowering plants by means of L-systems. First, we will propose to represent the shapes of leafs, petals, stamens, carpels, etc. with an extension of L-systems – a model based on three dimensional generalized maps – 3Gmaps L-systems, which can be successfully applied for the modelling of flowering plants. The grammar description of the structure of the flowering plants provides an unlimited number of its geometrical interpretations. Second, we will improve the process of grammar writing by adding a new functionality of interactive parameter adjustment. Third, we will propose a new method of inverse modelling of flowering plants, where the user can interactively define the flower characteristics. The algorithm uses this information as an input, which is then analyzed and coded as L-systems grammar. Finally, we will present a method for creating virtual glades of flowers using Kinect gestures. We want to remark that our work has been done with 3Gmaps L-system software platform developed in the scope of the thesis to integrate all the proposed techniques.Les plantes ont longtemps intrigué les scientifiques, qui, avec son importance vitale pour la planète, sa beauté et l'énorme quantité de formes ayant, les rend un sujet attrayant pour la recherche. Un aspect intéressant est la création d'un modèle virtuel capable de simuler de vraies plantes avec un degré élevé de précision. L'objectif de notre étude est les plantes à fleurs, qui jouent un rôle énorme dans notre vie de fins nutritives et médicales à l'embellissement de l'environnement . L'obtention d'un modèle géométrique exacte d'une fleur est très utile, car elle joue un rôle important dans la validation du modèle virtuel. Par ailleurs, la visualisation de paramètres non directement traçables dans les plantes à fleurs vivantes est d'une grande aide à l'étude de la physiologie. L'énorme biodiversité entre les différentes parties d'un spécimen et entre les différents spécimens fournit une vaste zone d'objectifs qui la synthèse d'image doit contester. Modéliser des fleurs est un sous-ensemble d'un espace de recherche beaucoup plus vaste que la modélisation de plantes. Les plantes à fleurs ont des caractéristiques structurelles qui les rendent différentes des structures d'arbres, d’arbustes ou de l’herbe. A ce jour, on ne tient pas une grande importance à essayer cette ligne de recherche d'une façon particulière et en général a été classé dans le contexte plus large de la modélisation des plantes. Nous avons choisi d’utiliser le «L-systems» pour la procédure de la modélisation, et comme base pour notre recherche. Il y a différents mécanismes de catégorisation topologie de la plante dans chacune des étapes de sa croissance. Pour construire le plan de la structure d'une plante, avec une courte grammaire, quelques lignes étaient quelque chose qui dès le premier moment a suscité l'intérêt et par la suite évolué en quelques systèmes d'interprétation géométriques pour la modélisation des plantes. Notre objectif est d'étudier les moyens efficaces de décrire la structure des plantes à fleurs en utilisant L-systems. Tout d'abord, nous proposons de représenter les formes des feuilles, pétales, étamines, carpelles, etc. Avec une extension de L-systems - un modèle basé sur trois cartes généralisées dimensions - 3Gmaps L-systèmes, qui peut être appliquée avec succès pour la modélisation des plantes à fleurs. La description de la grammaire de la structure des plantes à fleurs fournit un nombre illimité de ses interprétations géométriques. Deuxièmement, nous allons améliorer le processus d'écriture de la grammaire par l'ajout d'une nouvelle fonctionnalité de paramétrage interactif. Troisièmement, nous allons proposer une nouvelle méthode de modélisation inverse des plantes à fleurs, où l'utilisateur peut définir de manière interactive les caractéristiques des fleurs. L'algorithme utilise cette information comme une entrée, qui est ensuite analysée et codée en tant que L -systèmes grammaire. Enfin, nous allons présenter une méthode pour créer des clairières de fleurs virtuelles à l'aide de gestes Kinect. Nous voulons faire remarquer que notre travail a été fait avec la plateforme de logiciel 3Gmaps L- système développé dans le cadre de la thèse d'intégrer toutes les techniques proposées

Functional Integration of Floral Plant Traits: Shape and Symmetry, Optical Signal, Reward and Reproduction in the Angiosperm Flower

Pollination syndromes represent groups of floral phenotypes that have originated and diversified in interaction with biotic and abiotic pollen vectors. Plant trait pattern that constitute respective syndromes have been used extensively to predict pollen vectors. However, research in this field has seemingly suffered from poor data quality and insufficient integration of important traits. Main objective of this dissertation is to contribute to better understanding of floral functional integration. Methods of choice are hierarchical clustering, Nonlinear Multidimensional Scaling and vector fitting, amongst others. The following study groups were selected: In chapter II diversification of floral plant traits and pollinator guilds are presented for members of order Geraniales. The order is small but florally diverse, and therefore particularly suitable for comparative studies. Floral symmetry in this order appears to be uncorrelated to quantitatively assessed gamete production and nectar reward. In chapter III diversification of floral plant traits and flowering time are analysed for Hamamelidaceae, a small family known for the peculiar flowering time of some of its members in late autumn or winter. Clear clusters of anemophilous, zoophilous and ambophilous pollination syndromes are retrieved, uncorrelated to flowering time. In chapter IV floral plant traits of carnivorous active flypaper plants Pinguicula and Drosera are compared. Carnivorous plants are animal pollinated, and the potential capture of legitimate pollinators has long been researched under the term pollinator-prey conflict. Analysis of floral plant traits proves the absence of such a conflict. In chapter V subsets of floral functional traits are analysed for 18 members of Streptocarpus subgenus Streptocarpus. The subsets appear to be largely uncorrelated and show an arbitrary distribution on the phylogenetic tree. Reported flower types of the subgenus, commonly described as indicators for pollination syndromes, only correlate to floral architecture. In chapter VI crossing experiments between three closely related Streptocarpus species of the Cape primrose clade demonstrate vigorous seed set. The experiment proves the absence of postzygotic crossing barriers and supports the theory of a large, single gene pool underlying the subgenus. Prezygotic barriers such as eco-geographical isolation, including control of plant-animal interactions via floral architecture and optical attraction, appear to keep the species separated in the field. In chapter VII a more extensive crossing experiment with nine parental species of Streptocarpus subgenus Streptocarpus is presented. Floral architecture, optical signal and nectar reward of 40 hybrids is presented. Hybrids predominantly show full floral function. Establishment of functional hybrid swarms in the field and onset of homoploid hybrid speciation is therefore possible, if a freak pollination event circumvents established prezygotic crossing barriers.   Chapter VIII presents general conclusions of this thesis. All in all, the quantitative and qualitative, integrative assessment of floral plant traits appears as a promising approach for better understanding of floral function, and is an improvement compared to the widespread assessment of pollination syndromes only based on floral colours and shapes

The ecology, genetics and evolution of two Saxifraga species with different fragmentation histories

The aim of this thesis was to study the ecology, genetics and evolution of two congeneric species with different fragmentation histories. Saxifraga sponhemica is a glacial relict species of long-term fragmented lowland rock and scree habitats, and has been naturally rare for thousands of years with a disjunct distribution in Central Europe. Saxifraga granulata is a formerly common species of species-rich semi-natural grasslands that has become recently fragmented due to the intensification of agricultural practices. Fragmentation generally leads to loss of genetic diversity due to drift and inbreeding, reduced mean fitness and increased extinction rates of populations. Formerly common species are expected to be particularly susceptible to the recent anthropogenic fragmentation of their habitats. An analysis of the genetic diversity and the genetic structure of S. sponhemica populations based on RAPD-markers showed that in most populations considerable genetic variability has been preserved. An isolation by distance pattern of genetic differentiation suggested historical gene flow during the last glaciation when suitable habitats were much more abundant. Long-lived plant species can thus maintain historic genetic patterns despite the small size and strong isolation of populations. We grew plants form several families per population in a common garden to study the quantitative genetic variation within and among populations. We found several lines of evidence for divergent selection. Most population trait means were significantly related to climate gradients, indicating adaptation. Quantitative genetic differentiation increased with climatic distance and with geographical distance, even when neutral molecular divergence was controlled for, and quantitative genetic differentiation (QST) exceeded molecular genetic differentiation (FST) for some traits. Traits under strong selection showed little genetic variation within populations. The evolutionary potential of a population was not related to its size, the performance of the population or its neutral genetic diversity. However, performance in the common garden was lower for plants from populations with reduced molecular genetic variation, suggesting inbreeding depression due to genetic erosion. Studies of molecular and quantitative genetic variation may thus provide complementary insights important for the conservation of rare species. S. sponhemica does not appear to be genetically threatened in the short term, but populations are threatened by habitat destruction. A conservation measure could be to create new populations in suitable habitats with seeds from the same region to avoid local maladaptation. We also studied the RAPD molecular and the quantitative genetic structure of 19 populations of the declining grassland plant S. granulata in a geographically restricted area in Luxembourg and Germany. Differentiation for quantitative traits (QST) was slightly lower than differentiation for molecular markers (FST) suggesting homogenising selection for optimal trait values. Contrary to our expectations, the level of differentiation among fragmented S. granulata populations was low, and molecular genetic diversity was high and was not correlated with the size or the mean plant performance of populations. Gene flow by long distance dispersal or the longevity, clonality and polyploidy of S.granulata may have prevented genetic erosion due to drift. To avoid genetic erosion in the future, extant populations should be preserved and gene flow among populations should be maintained. Habitat fragmentation has led to increased inbreeding and inbreeding depression in many species. We investigated the effects of increased inbreeding and of intra- and interpopulation crosses on the reproduction and performance of S. granulata. Between population crosses may result in increased performance (heterosis), but may also lead to the disruption of coadapted gene complexes and to decreased performance (outbreeding depression). Inbreeding depression affected all traits in the F1 generation, but was stronger for traits expressed late during development and varied among families. Multiplicative fitness of the F2 generation after serial inbreeding was extremely low, but there was heterosis after crossing inbred lines. Outbreeding depression was however not observed in the F2. We also subjected the first generation of offspring to a fertilization and stress treatments (competition and defoliation). The adaptive plasticity of offspring from selfing and from interpopulation crosses in response to nutrient addition was reduced. Outbreeding depression was also observed in response to stress. The results suggest that continuous inbreeding may drastically reduce the fitness of plants, but effects may be environment-dependent. Overall, the results of this thesis advance knowledge on the role of time since habitat fragmentation, of historic connectivity among populations, and of life history traits such as longevity and clonality on the processes of selection and drift that shape the genetic variation within and among populations. It stresses the importance of using both molecular and quantitative genetic tools to gain complementary insight for the conservation of rare and endangered plant species. It shows how knowledge about the vulnerability to increased inbreeding and the potential risks of artificially increasing gene flow between populations of recently fragmented species contributes to their effective conservation

Desvendando a filogenia molecular de Bertolonieae s.l. (Melastomataceae) com ênfase na biogeografia e evolução de "Bertolonia"

Orientador: Renato GoldenbergTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de BiologiaResumo: Bertolonieae s.l. (incluindo "Bertolonia, Diolena, Diplarpea, Macrocentrum, Monolena, Salpinga e Triolena e, posteriormente, Boyania, Maguireanthus, Tateanthus e Tryssophyton") era tradicionalmente reconhecida pelas plantas com hábito herbáceo e cápsulas angulares, ovário com escamas apicais envolvendo o estilete e, frequentemente, inflorescências com ramos escorpioides. No entanto, a sistemática da tribo tem sido discutida por dois motivos principais: 1- se a tribo pertence a Sonerileae ou é uma tribo independente e 2- se distinta de Sonerileae, quais gêneros a compõem. Ambas compartilham caracteres como os frutos capsulares com hipanto persistente e angular e sementes não cocleadas com a superfície tuberculada. A diferença principal estaria na distribuição geográfica, com Bertolonieae s.l. ocorrendo no Novo Mundo e Sonerileae no Velho Mundo. Análises filogenéticas recentes revelaram uma relação evolutiva distante entre as tribos. Apesar da baixa amostragem de terminais, estes trabalhos também indicaram que Bertolonieae s.l. é um grupo parafilético e necessita reavaliação. Para tanto, foi necessário aumentar a amostragem da tribo focando em Bertolonia, única linhagem que ocorre no leste do Brasil. O gênero possui 33 taxóns e é endêmico da Mata Atlântica. Suas espécies caracterizam-se pelo hábito herbáceo e pelos frutos secos do tipo cápsula obtriquetra ou bertolonídeo. Elas ocupam ambientes úmidos e sombreados do bioma e podem ser terrestres, rupícolas, epífitas ou semiepífitas. Mesmo com algumas descrições recentes de novas espécies, ainda se fazia necessário um maior esforço amostral, principalmente na região central e norte da Mata Atlântica, para tornar possível o desenvolvimento de estudos que reflitam com maior acurácia a ocorrência e diversidade de Bertolonia. Após resoluções taxonômicas necessárias, visamos a entender os processos evolutivos e biogeográficos do gênero na Mata Atlântica, a partir de dados moleculares, morfológicos e geográficos. Os principais objetivos deste estudo foram: 1- Revisitar a circunscrição de Bertolonieae s.l. e dos gêneros que a compõem; 2- Avaliar se os caracteres morfológicos classicamente utilizados para unir tais gêneros possuem uma única origem evolutiva ou se são convergentes; 3- Contribuir para a taxonomia de Bertolonia, aumentando o esforço de coleta nas regiões central e norte da Mata Atlântica; 4- Propor uma hipótese filogenética para o gênero e testar se Bertolonia constitui um grupo monofilético; e, por fim, 5- Estudar padrões e processos evolutivos e biogeográficos do gênero na Mata AtlânticaAbstract: Bertolonieae s.l. (including "Bertolonia, Diolena, Diplarpea, Macrocentrum, Monolena, Salpinga, and Triolena, and afterwards Boyania, Maguireanthus, Tateanthus and Tryssophyton") were traditionally recognized as plants with an herbaceous habit and angular capsules, ovaries with apical scales surrounding the style, and (often) scorpioid inflorescences. However, the systematics of the tribe has been discussed mainly for two reasons: 1- whether the tribe belongs to Sonerileae or to an independent tribe and 2- if independent, which genera compose it. Both tribes share the capsular fruits with an angular, persistent hypanthium, and non-cochleate seeds with a tuberculate surface. The main difference would be in the geographical distribution with Bertolonieae s.l. occurring in the New World and Sonerileae in the Old World. Recent phylogenetic analyses revealed a distant evolutionary relationship between both tribes. Moreover, despite the low sampling of terminals, these studies indicate that Bertolonieae s.l. is paraphyletic and needs revaluation. Therefore, it was necessary to increase the sampling of Bertolonia, the single lineage that occurs in eastern Brazil. The genus has 33 taxa and it is endemic of the Atlantic Forest. Its species are characterized by the herbaceous habit and the dry, obtriquetrous or bertolonidium-type fruits. They inhabit moist, hilly and shaded areas and are terrestrial, rupicolous, epiphytic or semiepiphytic. Despite some species recently described, central and northern regions of the Atlantic Forest were still poorly collected, and we made an effort to improve collections, in order to build a base for accurate studies regarding Bertolonia. After substantial improvement on the taxonomic background, we aimed to study evolutionary and biogeographic patterns and processes of the genus in the Atlantic Forest, based on molecular, geographical and morphological evidences. The major goals of this study were: 1- to revisit the circumscription of Bertolonieae s.l. and its genera; 2- to evaluate if traditional morphological characters used have a unique origin in Melastomataceae; 3- Contribute to the taxonomy of Bertolonia, increasing the sample effort in central and northern Atlantic Forest; 4- to propose a phylogenetic hypothesis for Bertolonia to test if the genus is monophyletic; and 5- to study evolutionary and biogeographical patterns and processes of the genus in the Atlantic Forest.DoutoradoBiologia VegetalDoutor em Biologia Vegetal140362/2017-71491586CNPQCAPE