Seeking Evolution of Dark Energy

We study how observationally to distinguish between a cosmological constant (CC) and an evolving dark energy with equation of state $\omega(Z)$. We focus on the value of redshift Z* at which the cosmic late time acceleration begins and $\ddot{a}(Z^{*}) = 0$. Four $\omega(Z)$ are studied, including the well-known CPL model and a new model that has advantages when describing the entire expansion era. If dark energy is represented by a CC model with $\omega \equiv -1$, the present ranges for $\Omega_{\Lambda}(t_0)$ and $\Omega_m(t_0)$ imply that Z* = 0.743 with 4% error. We discuss the possible implications of a model independent measurement of Z* with better accuracy.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, 5 figure

Effects of a fire response trait on diversification in replicated radiations.

Fire has been proposed as a factor explaining the exceptional plant species richness found in Mediterranean regions. A fire response trait that allows plants to cope with frequent fire by either reseeding or resprouting could differentially affect rates of species diversification. However, little is known about the generality of the effects of differing fire response on species evolution. We study this question in the Restionaceae, a family that radiated in Southern Africa and Australia. These radiations occurred independently and represent evolutionary replicates. We apply Bayesian approaches to estimate trait-specific diversification rates and patterns of climatic niche evolution. We also compare the climatic heterogeneity of South Africa and Australia. Reseeders diversify faster than resprouters in South Africa, but not in Australia. We show that climatic preferences evolve more rapidly in reseeder lineages than in resprouters and that the optima of these climatic preferences differ between the two strategies. We find that South Africa is more climatically heterogeneous than Australia, independent of the spatial scale we consider. We propose that rapid shifts between states of the fire response trait promote speciation by separating species ecologically, but this only happens when the landscape is sufficiently heterogeneous

Phylogeny, morphological evolution, and speciation of endemic brassicaceae genera in the cape flora of southern Africa

Heliophila (ca. 73 spp.), the ditypic Cycloptychis and Thlaspeocarpa, and the monotypic Schlechteria, Silicularia, Brachycarpaea, and Chamira are endemic to the Cape region of South Africa, where they are the dominant genera of Brassicaceae. They may be regarded as the most diversified Brassicaceae lineage in every aspect of habit, leaf, flower, and fruit morphology. The characters used in the separation of these genera and their species, especially fruit type (silique vs. silicle), dehiscence (dehiscent vs. indehiscent), compression (latiseptate vs. angustiseptate), and cotyledonary type (spirolobal, diplecolobal, twice conduplicate), have been used extensively in the delimitation of tribes. The relationship and taxonomic limits among these genera are unclear and controversial. The present ITS study demonstrates the monophyly of tribe Heliophileae, with Chamira as sister clade. The other five smaller genera above are nested within two of the three main lineages of Heliophila, to which they should be reduced to synonymy. The current study reveals parallel evolution of fruit characters often used heavily in the traditional classification schemes of the family. However, the arrangement of species into three main clades largely corresponds with the distribution of morphological characters (e.g., habit, leaf shape, seed structure, inflorescence type, and presence/absence of basal appendages on the pedicels, petals, and staminal filaments) not adequately accounted for in previous studies. Estimation of divergence times of the main lineages of Heliophila is in agreement with recent estimations in other plant groups, all of which date the diversification against a background of aridification in the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Species of one main clade are perennial, microphyllous shrubs/subshrubs typically restricted to poor sandstone soils in the southwestern and western parts of the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Species of the other two clades are predominantly annuals that grow in more arid regions of Namibia and Namaqualand, as well as in the above sandstone areas of the Cape Region. The adaptive significance of various floral structures is discussed in terms of their possible role in the rapid diversification within Heliophila

A protocol for the systematic documentation of the ecology of Cape plants

A plea is made for the more systematic collection of ecological data with herbarium specimens, and for the inclusion of descriptive ecological data with the species descriptions in monographs, revisions, floras and electronic publications. Ecological data are becoming increasingly important for conservation policies, for evaluating the possible impacts of climatic and hydrological change, and for investigating the evolution and co-existence of the remarkably large number of species in the Cape Floristic Region. Ecological data are divided into habitat data that have to be collected in the field (largely micro-habitat data), those data that can be inferred from geographical information systems overlays (mostly climatic data), and biological data which are dependent on targetted observations (e.g. pollination, dispersal and fire biology) and which generally cannot be made for each herbarium collection. Brief protocols for the collection of the microhabitat data are suggested for the Cape Floristic Region, and some examples are given of the ecological descriptive information that should go with species descriptions

Plant species radiations: where, when, why?

The spatial and temporal patterns of plant species radiations are largely unknown. I used a nonlinear regression to estimate speciation and extinction rates from all relevant dated clades. Both are surprisingly high. A high species richness can be the result of either little extinction, thus preserving the diversity that dates from older radiations (a ‘mature radiation’), or a ‘recent and rapid radiation’. The analysis of radiations from different regions (Andes, New Zealand, Australia, southwest Africa, tropics and Eurasia) revealed that the diversity of Australia may be largely the result of mature radiations. This is in sharp contrast to New Zealand, where the flora appears to be largely the result of recent and rapid radiations. Mature radiations are characteristic of regions that have been climatically and geologically stable throughout the Neogene, whereas recent and rapid radiations are more typical of younger (Pliocene) environments. The hyperdiverse Cape and Neotropical floras are the result of the combinations of mature as well as recent and rapid radiations. Both the areas contain stable environments (the Amazon basin and the Cape Fold Mountains) as well as dynamic landscapes (the Andes and the South African west coast). The evolution of diversity can only be understood in the context of the local environment

Estimating the age of fire in the Cape flora of South Africa from an orchid phylogeny

Fire may have been a crucial component in the evolution of the Cape flora of South Africa, a region characterized by outstanding levels of species richness and endemism. However, there is, to date, no critical assessment of the age of the modern fire regime in this biome. Here, we exploit the presence of two obligate post-fire flowering clades in the orchid genus Disa, in conjunction with a robust, well-sampled and dated molecular phylogeny, to estimate the age by which fire must have been present. Our results indicate that summer drought (winter rainfall), the fire regime and the fynbos vegetation are several million years older than currently suggested. Summer drought and the fynbos vegetation are estimated to date back to at least the Early Miocene (ca 19.5Ma). The current fire regime may have been established during a period of global cooling that followed the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (ca 15 Ma), which led to the expansion of open habitats and increased aridification. The first appearance of Disa species in the grassland biome, as well as in the subalpine habitat, is in striking agreement with reliable geological and palaeontological evidence of the age of these ecosystems, thus corroborating the efficacy of our methods. These results change our understanding of the historical mechanisms underlying botanical evolution in southern Africa, and confirm the potential of using molecular phylogenies to date events for which other information is lacking or inconclusive. © 2010 The Royal Society.Conference Pape