Species Diversification And Differentiation In The Madagascar And Indian Ocean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot PDF Download

The Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands biodiversity hotspot is renowned for its high levels of species diversity and endemism. Yet despite many hypotheses and a considerable literature, we still know relatively little about the mechanisms of species diversification within the region. Until recently, the major role for high levels of species diversity was attributed solely to breakup of East Gondwana and the isolation of Madagascar and India (120-160Mya). However, an increasing number of studies, employing recent advances in analytical methods, have shown that the origin for many groups post-dates the isolation of Madagascar. Furthermore, Madagascar is embedded in a wider geographical setting of oceanic and microcontinental islands that vary distinctly in origin, age and structure, and that are also home to highly diverse flora and fauna assemblages. Most of these islands are young (2-10My) and the high levels of endemism on these islands therefore can't be explained by Gondwanan vicariance, but only by recent long distance dispersal followed by extensive in-situ diversification processes. In addition, some groups of organisms show higher levels of diversity on young volcanic islands than on Madagascar, which runs counter to expectations given the greater surface area and habitat diversity of Madagascar. Taking into account the disparity in geological ages among the land fragments in the Indian Ocean, theory suggests that diversification on geologically young islands would have proceeded via high levels of diversification rates and rapid shifts over time after new ranges and habitat became available upon colonization. In this thesis we compare major plant lineages (Asteraceae, Myrsinaceae, Monimiaceae) that have undergone extensive diversification in the region. In each of these families we selected highly speciose genera that are characterized by single island endemism, phenotypic diversity and presence on Madagascar and a range of Indian Ocean islands. We found evidence of significant shifts in diversification rates and repeated long distance dispersals to Indian Ocean islands where Madagascar played a central role as a disperser source...