Bromeliaceae as a model group in understanding the evolution of Neotropical biota
Clarisse Palma‐Silva, Michael F. Fay
Abstract
The ancestors of Bromeliaceae originated in the Guayana Shield c. 100 Mya. However, most of the current taxa started to diversify in South America just after the main orogenic changes associated with the beginning of the uplift of the Andes during the Miocene (c. 20 Mya; Givnish et al., 2007, 2011). Since then, impressive diversifications of several functional and ecological adaptations have allowed bromeliads to occupy a range of extreme habitats in almost all of tropical and subtropical South America, and currently species occur from northern Patagonia to the southern USA (Florida); there is also a single species in West Africa (Benzing, 2000; Christenhusz & Chase, 2013). Species from this wonderful monocot family are good models for understanding how the interplay among microevolutionary processes such as gene flow, genetic drift and natural selection influence species-level patterns of macroevolution (i.e. speciation and extinction rates) in the Neotropics. Following previous Special Issues on bromeliads, legumes, palms, orchids and grasses (see references in Fay, 2018; Clark et al., 2019), in the present Special Issue, we have assembled a series of 21 articles based on presentations at Monocots VI–6th International Conference on Comparative Biology of Monocotyledons and BromEvo II–2nd World conference on Bromeliaceae Evolution (held in Natal in October 2019). The authors use diverse approaches, both classic and contemporary, to illuminate micro- and macro-evolutionary processes and patterns, such as systematics, phylogenetics and biogeography, phylogeography and population genetics, hybridization and speciation, reproductive and pollination biology, morphology and evolution, ecophysiology, cytogenetics, and genome evolution. The main goal of this Special Issue is to illustrate the progress and promise of research on the evolution and systematics of Bromeliaceae and to highlight outstanding challenges that should be considered for the next step in future research.