Collaborative Research: Diversification, Disjunction, and Decline in the Mediterranean Basin: Insights from Endemic Bellflowers (Campanulaceae)

Southern Illinois University At Carbondale, Carbondale IL

Investigators

Abstract

The Mediterranean Basin is among the most biodiverse regions in the world. It is characterized by a complex geological history and a recently evolved climate, and has been impacted by thousands of years of human presence. This study explores the evolution of bellflowers (in the plant family Campanulaceae) as a model to understand the processes that have shaped the biodiversity of this region. The bellflowers are particularly diverse in the Mediterranean, where there are over 350 species. About half of the species are unique to the region and some are threatened with extinction. Biologists and anthropologists will work together to determine the role of human impact as one of the potential factors leading to current bellflower species distribution patterns. This research will improve our understanding of the processes that drive plant diversification. Numerous trainees will be mentored, including students at two universities. Researchers will also conduct outreach to public schools in Florida. A workshop for public school teachers will result in development of instructional modules focused on evolution of the Mediterranean biome. Additionally, the research team will showcase research findings through a public exhibit including videos and interactive activities at the Florida Museum of Natural History. This project will integrate extensive field- and herbarium-based research with a variety of molecular techniques and cutting-edge analytical approaches to provide a comprehensive systematic and evolutionary study of Mediterranean bellflowers. The resulting data will elucidate biodiversity and quantify the relative roles of geological history, hybridization, genome duplication, and drastic human pressure in shaping the evolutionary history and distribution of Mediterranean plants, especially endemic taxa. This research will investigate the nature of endemism in the Mediterranean by highlighting the interplay of these complex processes. Human activities may have significantly contributed to gene pool fragmentation and range contraction of endemics. The long-term effects of such human activities have never been analyzed within an evolutionary context and modeled as parameters to help explain changes, or any potential impacts, on available ecological niches. This region presents an ideal opportunity for synthesizing and integrating anthropological and evolutionary hypotheses. This study will generate: 1) a comprehensive reconstruction of the evolutionary history of bellflowers that will provide critical clarification on the nature of Mediterranean endemism; 2) population level studies of endemic species that may reveal cryptic diversity and will generate a detailed assessment of the processes that cause species fragmentation; 3) a cutting-edge approach using spatial data modeling that will integrate bioclimatic variables with available data on the impact of human migrations and land use changes on the ecosystem across time in order to reconstruct past, present, and future ecological niches of endemics; and 4) an update of Campanulaceae ambiguous generic classification and a new clade-based classification with the ability to visualize clade distributions through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) portal. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.