Colonization and adaptations of Ficus in Taiwan
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
BAIN, Anthony
Abstract
The Island of Taiwan appeared some two million years ago. We investigated the Ficus species of Taiwan in order to understand how the island was colonized and how insular conditions affected the colonizing species. Genus Ficus is characterized by its mutualistic association with highly dispersive pollinating wasps. Further figs, the closed inflorescences of Ficus, are consumed by a large number of highly efficient seed dispersers. We developed a set of portable genetic markers in order to analyze several species using a single set of markers. We then analyzed genetic structuring within Taiwan in a set of four species. One species presented clear genetic differentiation in the warm south Taiwan, suggesting the possibility of incipient ecological speciation in a highly dispersive species. Another species presented indications of ongoing selective processes also in south Taiwan. On a broader scale we show that microsatellite data and notably R statistics provide useful insights into Ficus phylogeography. In three species, continental Asia seems to correspond to a single genetic background despite strong genetic differentiation among populations. For Ficus variegata, we show that it colonized Taiwan from the Philippines and we detect no trace of gene flow from the continent. An investigation of Ficus reproductive phenology suggests that only species producing frequent fig crops have established on the island. This work opens up a series of perspectives on the response of Ficus to insular conditions.
Subjects
Ficus
phylogeography
insularity
Taiwan
Type
thesis
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