RESUMEN
Recent debates on the number of plant species in the vast lowland rain forests of the Amazon have been based largely on model estimates, neglecting published checklists based on verified voucher data. Here we collate taxonomically verified checklists to present a list of seed plant species from lowland Amazon rain forests. Our list comprises 14,003 species, of which 6,727 are trees. These figures are similar to estimates derived from nonparametric ecological models, but they contrast strongly with predictions of much higher tree diversity derived from parametric models. Based on the known proportion of tree species in neotropical lowland rain forest communities as measured in complete plot censuses, and on overall estimates of seed plant diversity in Brazil and in the neotropics in general, it is more likely that tree diversity in the Amazon is closer to the lower estimates derived from nonparametric models. Much remains unknown about Amazonian plant diversity, but this taxonomically verified dataset provides a valid starting point for macroecological and evolutionary studies aimed at understanding the origin, evolution, and ecology of the exceptional biodiversity of Amazonian forests.
Asunto(s)
Biodiversidad , Bases de Datos Factuales , Plantas/clasificación , Bosque Lluvioso , BrasilRESUMEN
PREMISE OF STUDY: Flowering traits can sometimes be overemphasized in taxonomic classifications. The fused and completely differentiated papilionate floral organs in the neotropical legume trees Vatairea and Vataireopsis were traditionally used in part to ascribe these genera to the tribe Dalbergieae. In contrast, the free and mostly undifferentiated floral parts of Luetzelburgia and Sweetia fit the circumscription of the "primitive" Sophoreae. Such divergent floral morphologies thought to divide deep phylogenetic lineages indeed may be prone to episodic transformation among close papilionoid relatives. METHODS: We sampled 26 of 27 known species of Luetzelburgia, Sweetia, Vatairea, and Vataireopsis in parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal ITS/5.8S and six plastid (matK, 3'-trnK, psbA-trnH, trnL intron, rps16 intron, and trnD-T) DNA sequence loci. KEY RESULTS: The analyses of individual and combined data sets strongly resolved the monophyly of each of Luetzelburgia, Sweetia, Vatairea, and Vataireopsis. Vataireopsis was resolved as sister to the rest and the morphologically divergent Luetzelburgia and Vatairea were strongly resolved as sister clades. Floral morphology was generally not a good predictor of phylogenetic relatedness. CONCLUSIONS: Luetzelburgia, Sweetia, Vatairea, and Vataireopsis are unequivocally resolved as the "vataireoid" clade. Fruit and vegetative traits are found to be more phylogenetically conserved than many floral traits. This explains why the identity of the vataireoids has been overlooked or confused. The evolvability of floral traits may also be a general condition among many of the early-branching papilionoid lineages.
Asunto(s)
ADN de Cloroplastos/química , Fabaceae/genética , Flores/anatomía & histología , Filogenia , Evolución Biológica , ADN Intergénico/química , Fabaceae/anatomía & histología , Fabaceae/químicaRESUMEN
In this work the infrageneric taxa of DiplotropisBenth. (LEG. FAB.) - Tribe So -phoreae s. latoare analised and discussed. A new secion (Sect. RacemosaeLima) is described and keys for identification of the sections, species and varieties ore provided.
No presente trabalho, são analisados e discutidos os táxons infragenéricos de Diplotropis Bentham (Leguminosae - Faboideae) - Tribo Sophoreae s. lato. Uma nova seção (Sect. Racemosae lima) é descrita e são apresentadas chaves para identificação das seções, espécies e variedades.
