ConR: An R package to assist large-scale multispecies preliminary conservation assessments using distribution data

Published online: 16 Dec 2017The Red List Categories and the accompanying five criteria developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provide an authoritative and comprehensive methodology to assess the conservation status of organisms. Red List criterion B, which principally uses distribution data, is the most widely used to assess conservation status, particularly of plant species. No software package has previously been available to perform large-scale multispecies calculations of the three main criterion B parameters [extent of occurrence (EOO), area of occupancy (AOO) and an estimate of the number of locations] and provide preliminary conservation assessments using an automated batch process. We developed ConR, a dedicated R package, as a rapid and efficient tool to conduct large numbers of preliminary assessments, thereby facilitating complete Red List assessment. ConR (1) calculates key geographic range parameters (AOO and EOO) and estimates the number of locations sensu IUCN needed for an assessment under criterion B; (2) uses this information in a batch process to generate preliminary assessments of multiple species; (3) summarize the parameters and preliminary assessments in a spreadsheet; and (4) provides a visualization of the results by generating maps suitable for the submission of full assessments to the IUCN Red List. ConR can be used for any living organism for which reliable georeferenced distribution data are available. As distributional data for taxa become increasingly available via large open access datasets, ConR provides a novel, timely tool to guide and accelerate the work of the conservation and taxonomic communities by enabling practitioners to conduct preliminary assessments simultaneously for hundreds or even thousands of species in an efficient and time-saving way

Revealing the secrets of African annonaceae : systematics, evolution and biogeography of the syncarpous genera Isolona and Monodora

The goal of this PhD project was to study the evolution, systematics and biogeography of two African genera from the pan-tropical Annonaceae family: Isolona and Monodora. Both genera are unique within the family in that the female reproductive parts (or carpels) are fused into a single unit. All other Annonaceae have freely arranged carpels. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships of Isolona and Monodora at the intra-familial and intra-generic levels. In Chapter 2, we explore the influence of priors when using the novel Bayesian based posterior mapping to study the evolution of morphological characters. Up to now, it was unclear if these priors had any influence on the results. Using a family level molecular phylogeny of the Annonaceae, we study the evolution of two morphological characters under different prior values. We show that different prior values will return different results. Thus, inadequate prior values can lead to erroneous conclusions over the evolution of the studied morphological characters. We also indicate a practical way to choose the prior values when using the posterior mapping approach to study morphological character evolution. In Chapter 3, using the posterior mapping approach, we study the evolutionary origins of syncarpy in Annonaceae. The closest relatives of Isolona and Monodora are elucidated. We generate a well resolved phylogeny which included for the first time the majority of African Annonaceae genera. We also study additional morphological and palynological characters relevant to Annonaceae classification in general. Our phylogenetic analyses recover a fully resolved clade comprising twelve endemic African genera, including Isolona and Monodora, which was nested within the so-called long-branch clade. This is the largest and most species-rich clade of African genera identified to date within Annonaceae. Our results indicate that syncarpy arose by fusion of a moderate number of carpels. The alternative hypothesis that syncarpy arose by multiplication of an initial single carpel receives no support. In Chapter 4 we use African Annonaceae as a model family to study the biogeographical aspects of the evolutionary origins of African rain forests. It is generally thought that the large West-Central rain forest blocks was continuous during the Eocene with the now fragmented and smaller forests of East Africa, explaining the strong floristic affinities between both areas. Using dated molecular phylogenies we provide evidence of the recurring break-up and reconnection of this pan-African rain forest during the Oligocene and Miocene. The reconnections allowed for biotic exchange while the break-ups induced speciation enhancing the levels of endemicity, thus providing an explanation for present-day patterns in the distribution and diversity of plants in African rain forests. In Chapter 5, we perform a detailed analysis of pollen morphology within a strongly supported monophyletic group of five African genera, including Isolona and Monodora. We specifically assess if pollen characters are useful for classification purposes within Isolona and Monodora using a species-level molecular phylogeny. The results show a wide pollen morphological diversity. The pollen types defined within Isolona and Monodora provide little taxonomic information for major clades within both genera. However, pollen variation proves useful as a support of phylogenetic relatedness between groups of closely related species. Finally in Chapter 6, a monographic revision of both Isolona and Monodora is presented. Isolona consists of 20 species with five endemic to Madagascar and one newly described species. Monodora has a total of 14 species, three of which were described during this PhD project from Tanzania. Detailed descriptions as well as keys are provided. The conservation status of each species is assessed following the IUCN recommendations. Just under half of the total number of species from both genera is assigned to some level of threat (12 species or 60% in Isolona and four species or 28% in Monodora). <br/

Revealing the secrets of African annonaceae : systematics, evolution and biogeography of the syncarpous genera Isolona and Monodora

The goal of this PhD project was to study the evolution, systematics and biogeography of two African genera from the pan-tropical Annonaceae family: Isolona and Monodora. Both genera are unique within the family in that the female reproductive parts (or carpels) are fused into a single unit. All other Annonaceae have freely arranged carpels. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships of Isolona and Monodora at the intra-familial and intra-generic levels. In Chapter 2, we explore the influence of priors when using the novel Bayesian based posterior mapping to study the evolution of morphological characters. Up to now, it was unclear if these priors had any influence on the results. Using a family level molecular phylogeny of the Annonaceae, we study the evolution of two morphological characters under different prior values. We show that different prior values will return different results. Thus, inadequate prior values can lead to erroneous conclusions over the evolution of the studied morphological characters. We also indicate a practical way to choose the prior values when using the posterior mapping approach to study morphological character evolution. In Chapter 3, using the posterior mapping approach, we study the evolutionary origins of syncarpy in Annonaceae. The closest relatives of Isolona and Monodora are elucidated. We generate a well resolved phylogeny which included for the first time the majority of African Annonaceae genera. We also study additional morphological and palynological characters relevant to Annonaceae classification in general. Our phylogenetic analyses recover a fully resolved clade comprising twelve endemic African genera, including Isolona and Monodora, which was nested within the so-called long-branch clade. This is the largest and most species-rich clade of African genera identified to date within Annonaceae. Our results indicate that syncarpy arose by fusion of a moderate number of carpels. The alternative hypothesis that syncarpy arose by multiplication of an initial single carpel receives no support. In Chapter 4 we use African Annonaceae as a model family to study the biogeographical aspects of the evolutionary origins of African rain forests. It is generally thought that the large West-Central rain forest blocks was continuous during the Eocene with the now fragmented and smaller forests of East Africa, explaining the strong floristic affinities between both areas. Using dated molecular phylogenies we provide evidence of the recurring break-up and reconnection of this pan-African rain forest during the Oligocene and Miocene. The reconnections allowed for biotic exchange while the break-ups induced speciation enhancing the levels of endemicity, thus providing an explanation for present-day patterns in the distribution and diversity of plants in African rain forests. In Chapter 5, we perform a detailed analysis of pollen morphology within a strongly supported monophyletic group of five African genera, including Isolona and Monodora. We specifically assess if pollen characters are useful for classification purposes within Isolona and Monodora using a species-level molecular phylogeny. The results show a wide pollen morphological diversity. The pollen types defined within Isolona and Monodora provide little taxonomic information for major clades within both genera. However, pollen variation proves useful as a support of phylogenetic relatedness between groups of closely related species. Finally in Chapter 6, a monographic revision of both Isolona and Monodora is presented. Isolona consists of 20 species with five endemic to Madagascar and one newly described species. Monodora has a total of 14 species, three of which were described during this PhD project from Tanzania. Detailed descriptions as well as keys are provided. The conservation status of each species is assessed following the IUCN recommendations. Just under half of the total number of species from both genera is assigned to some level of threat (12 species or 60% in Isolona and four species or 28% in Monodora)

A new species of Uvariopsis (Annonaceae), endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania

The Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania enclose high levels of plant and animal diversity with many yet to be described species. Here we describe a new species of the pan-tropical plant family Annonaceae named Uvariopsis lovettiana. It closely resembles another Eastern Arc endemic species, U. bisexualis, and its possible relationships with this species are discussed. A description with illustrations is presented as well as a suggestion for the IUCN conservation status of this new taxo

From Africa via Europe to South America: migrational route of a species-rich genus of Neotropical lowland rain forest trees (Guatteria, Annonaceae)

Aim Several recent studies have suggested that a substantial portion of today's plant diversity in the Neotropics has resulted from the dispersal of taxa into that region rather than by vicariance. In general, three routes have been documented for the dispersal of taxa onto the South American continent: (1) via the North Atlantic Land Bridge, (2) via the Bering Land Bridge, or (3) from Africa directly onto the continent. Here a species-rich genus of Neotropical lowland rain forest trees (Guatteria, Annonaceae) is used as a model to investigate these three hypotheses. Location The Neotropics. Methods The phylogenetic relationships within the long-branch clade of Annonaceae were reconstructed (using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference) in order to gain insight in the phylogenetic position of Guatteria. Furthermore, Bayesian molecular dating and Bayesian dispersal-vicariance (Bayes-DIVA) analyses were undertaken. Results Most of the relationships within the long-branch clade of Annonaceae were reconstructed and had high support. However, the relationship between the Duguetia clade, the Xylopia-Artabotrys clade and Guatteria remained unclear. The stem node age estimate of Guatteria ranged between 49.2 and 51.3 Ma, whereas the crown node age estimate ranged between 11.4 and 17.8 Ma. For the ancestral area of Guatteria and its sister group, the area North America-Africa was reconstructed in 99% of 10,000 DIVA analyses, while South America-North America was found just 1% of the time. Main conclusions The estimated stem to crown node ages of Guatteria in combination with the Bayes-DIVA analyses imply a scenario congruent with an African origin followed by dispersal across the North Atlantic Land Bridge in the early to middle Eocene and further dispersal into North and Central America (and ultimately South America) in the Miocene. The phylogenetically and morphologically isolated position of the genus is probably due to extinction of the North American and European stem lineages in the Tertiar

Radiations and key innovations in an early branching angiosperm lineage (Annonaceae; Magnoliales)

Biologists are fascinated by species-rich groups and have attempted to discover the causes for their abundant diversification. Comprehension of the causes and mechanisms underpinning radiations and detection of their frequency will contribute greatly to the understanding of the evolutionary origin of biodiversity and its ecological structure. A dated and well-resolved phylogenetic tree of Annonaceae was used to study diversification patterns in the family in order to identify factors that drive speciation and the evolution of morphological (key) characters. It was found that, except for Goniothalamus, the largest genera in the family are not the result of radiations. Furthermore, the difference in species numbers between subfamilies Annonoideae (former long branch clade) and Malmeoideae (former short branch clade) cannot be attributed to significant differences in the diversification rate. Most of the speciation in Annonaceae is not distinguishable from a random branching process (i.e. chance), and no special explanations are therefore necessary for the distribution of species richness across the major part of the phylogenetic tree for Annonaceae. Only for a small number of clades can key innovations be invoked to explain the elevated rate of diversificatio