Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: The case of the Andean highlands

TOVAR, CAROLINA; HUDSON, LUCIA; CUESTA, FRANCISCO; MENESES, ROSA ISELA; MURIEL, PRISCILLA; HIDALGO, ORIANE; PALAZZESI, LUIS; SUAREZ BALLESTEROS, CARLOS; HAMMOND HUNT, ELEANOR; DIAZGRANADOS, MAURICIO; HIND, D. J. NICHOLAS; FOREST, FELIX; HALLOY, STEPHAN; AGUIRRE, NIKOLAY; BAKER, WILLIAM J; BECK, STEPHAN; CARILLA, JULIETA; EGUIGUREN, PAÚL; FRANÇOSO, ELAINE; GÁMEZ, LUIS E; JARAMILLO, RICARDO; LLAMBÍ, LUIS DANIEL; MAURIN, OLIVIER; MELCHER, INGA; MULLER, GEMMA; ROY, SHYAMALI; VIÑAS, PAUL; YAGER, KARINA; VIRUEL, JUAN

ANNALS OF BOTANY

OXFORD UNIV PRESS

Año: 2023 vol. 132 p. 255 - 267

0305-7364

Background and Aims: Understanding diaspore morphology and how much a species invests on dispersal appendages is key for improving our knowledge of dispersal in fragmented habitats. We investigate diaspore morphological traits in high-Andean Compositae and their main abiotic and biotic drivers and test whether they play a role in species distribution patterns across the naturally fragmented high-Andean grasslands. Methods: We collected diaspore trait data for 125 Compositae species across 47 tropical high-Andean summits, focusing on achene length and pappus-To-Achene length ratio, with the latter as a proxy of dispersal investment. We analysed the role of abiotic (temperature, elevation and latitude) and biotic factors (phylogenetic signal and differences between tribes) on diaspore traits and whether they are related to distribution patterns across the Andes, using phylogenomics, distribution modelling and community ecology analyses. Key Results: Seventy-five percent of the studied species show small achenes (length