Botanical Monography in the Anthropocene

Unprecedented changes in the Earth's biota are prompting urgent efforts to describe and conserve plant diversity. For centuries, botanical monographs — comprehensive systematic treatments of a family or genus — have been the gold standard for disseminating scientific information to accelerate research. The lack of a monograph compounds the risk that undiscovered species become extinct before they can be studied and conserved. Progress towards estimating the Tree of Life and digital information resources now bring even the most ambitious monographs within reach. Here, we recommend best practices to complete monographs urgently, especially for tropical plant groups under imminent threat or with expected socioeconomic benefits. We also highlight the renewed relevance and potential impact of monographies for the understanding, sustainable use, and conservation of biodiversity.Fil: Grace, Olwen M.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Pérez-Escobar, Oscar A.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Lucas, Eve J.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Vorontsova, Maria S.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Lewis, Gwilym P.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Walker, Barnaby E.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Lohmann, Lúcia G.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Knapp, Sandra. Natural History Museum; Reino UnidoFil: Wilkie, Peter. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Sarkinen, Tiina. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Darbyshire, Iain. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Lughadha, Eimear Nic. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Monro, Alexandre. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Woudstra, Yannick. Universidad de Copenhagen; Dinamarca. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Demissew, Sebsebe. Addis Ababa University; EtiopíaFil: Muasya, A. Muthama. University Of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Baker, William J.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Antonelli, Alexandre. University of Oxford; Reino Unido. University Goteborg; Sueci

Joining forces in Ochnaceae phylogenomics: a tale of two targeted sequencing probe kits

Premise: Both universal and family-specific targeted sequencing probe kits are becoming widely used for reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships in angiosperms. Within the pantropical Ochnaceae, we show that with careful data filtering, universal kits are equally as capable in resolving intergeneric relationships as custom probe kits. Furthermore, we show the strength in combining data from both kits to mitigate bias and provide a more robust result to resolve evolutionary relationships. Methods: We sampled 23 Ochnaceae genera and used targeted sequencing with two probe kits, the universal Angiosperms353 kit and a family-specific kit. We used maximum likelihood inference with a concatenated matrix of loci and multispecies-coalescence approaches to infer relationships in the family. We explored phylogenetic informativeness and the impact of missing data on resolution and tree support. Results: For the Angiosperms353 data set, the concatenation approach provided results more congruent with those of the Ochnaceae-specific data set. Filtering missing data was most impactful on the Angiosperms353 data set, with a relaxed threshold being the optimum scenario. The Ochnaceae-specific data set resolved consistent topologies using both inference methods, and no major improvements were obtained after data filtering. Merging of data obtained with the two kits resulted in a well-supported phylogenetic tree. Conclusions: The Angiosperms353 data set improved upon data filtering, and missing data played an important role in phylogenetic reconstruction. The Angiosperms353 data set resolved the phylogenetic backbone of Ochnaceae as equally well as the family specific data set. All analyses indicated that both Sauvagesia L. and Campylospermum Tiegh. as currently circumscribed are polyphyletic and require revised delimitation

The development of British accountancy in the nineteenth century: A technological determinist approach

This article argues that some of the most popular treatments of the development of accountancy in Britain do not accord with the historical evidence. This is true of the functionalist's altruistic view of the profession and of the predominant paradigm�-�the Weberian 'professional project'. There is no evidence in the early history of British accountancy to support the concepts of, for example: monopolistic closure, credentialism, or the social construction of skill. Instead, using a model based on technological determinism, the article reasserts the importance of the industrialisation process in forming the accountancy profession, and sees the formation of the chartered societies as largely set up to brand the accountants' training and thereby preserve the value of their human capital.Professions, Accounting History, Chartered Accountancy, Technological Determinism,

Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms

International audienceAngiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods 1,2 . A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome 3,4 . Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins 5–7 . However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes 8 . This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies 9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade

Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms.

Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins5-7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes8. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade

Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms

Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins5,6,7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes8. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade