Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants
Background: The extraordinary diversification of angiosperm plants in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods has produced an estimated 250,000–300,000 living angiosperm species and has fundamentally altered terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions with animals as pollinators or seed dispersers have long be...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33987 |
| _version_ | 1848754097918836736 |
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| author | Lengyel, S. Gove, Aaron Latimer, A. Majer, Jonathan Dunn, Robert |
| author_facet | Lengyel, S. Gove, Aaron Latimer, A. Majer, Jonathan Dunn, Robert |
| author_sort | Lengyel, S. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: The extraordinary diversification of angiosperm plants in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods has produced an estimated 250,000–300,000 living angiosperm species and has fundamentally altered terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions with animals as pollinators or seed dispersers have long been suspected as drivers of angiosperm diversification, yet empirical examples remain sparse or inconclusive. Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) may drive diversification as it can reduce extinction by providing selective advantages to plants and can increase speciation by enhancing geographical isolation by extremely limited dispersal distances. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using the most comprehensive sister-group comparison to date, we tested the hypothesis that myrmecochory leads to higher diversification rates in angiosperm plants. As predicted, diversification rates were substantially higher in ant-dispersed plants than in their non-myrmecochorous relatives. Data from 101 angiosperm lineages in 241 genera from all continents except Antarctica revealed that ant-dispersed lineages contained on average more than twice as many species as did their non-myrmecochorous sister groups. Contrasts in species diversity between sister groups demonstrated that diversification rates did not depend on seed dispersal mode in the sister group and were higher in myrmecochorous lineages in most biogeographic regions.Conclusions/Significance: Myrmecochory, which has evolved independently at least 100 times in angiosperms and is estimated to be present in at least 77 families and 11 000 species, is a key evolutionary innovation and a globally important driver of plant diversity. Myrmecochory provides the best example to date for a consistent effect of any mutualism on large-scale diversification. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:35:00Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-33987 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:35:00Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-339872019-03-19T05:40:00Z Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants Lengyel, S. Gove, Aaron Latimer, A. Majer, Jonathan Dunn, Robert Background: The extraordinary diversification of angiosperm plants in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods has produced an estimated 250,000–300,000 living angiosperm species and has fundamentally altered terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions with animals as pollinators or seed dispersers have long been suspected as drivers of angiosperm diversification, yet empirical examples remain sparse or inconclusive. Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) may drive diversification as it can reduce extinction by providing selective advantages to plants and can increase speciation by enhancing geographical isolation by extremely limited dispersal distances. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using the most comprehensive sister-group comparison to date, we tested the hypothesis that myrmecochory leads to higher diversification rates in angiosperm plants. As predicted, diversification rates were substantially higher in ant-dispersed plants than in their non-myrmecochorous relatives. Data from 101 angiosperm lineages in 241 genera from all continents except Antarctica revealed that ant-dispersed lineages contained on average more than twice as many species as did their non-myrmecochorous sister groups. Contrasts in species diversity between sister groups demonstrated that diversification rates did not depend on seed dispersal mode in the sister group and were higher in myrmecochorous lineages in most biogeographic regions.Conclusions/Significance: Myrmecochory, which has evolved independently at least 100 times in angiosperms and is estimated to be present in at least 77 families and 11 000 species, is a key evolutionary innovation and a globally important driver of plant diversity. Myrmecochory provides the best example to date for a consistent effect of any mutualism on large-scale diversification. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33987 10.1371/journal.pone.0005480 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Public Library of Science (PLoS) fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Lengyel, S. Gove, Aaron Latimer, A. Majer, Jonathan Dunn, Robert Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| title | Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| title_full | Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| title_fullStr | Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| title_short | Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| title_sort | ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33987 |