Parallel evolution and cryptic diversification in a common and widespread Amazonian tree, Protium subserratum.

The lowland Amazon rainforest houses some of the greatest tree diversity on Earth. While the vast majority of these species are rare, a small number are common and widespread and thus considered to play a disproportionate role in many of the global ecosystem services provided by the Amazon. However, the extent to which dominant Amazonian tree species actually include multiple clades, each on their own unique evolutionary trajectory, is unknown. Here we investigate the extent to which lineage divergence may be occurring within Protium subserratum (Burseraceae), a common and widespread tree species that is monophyletic with populations exhibiting genotypic and phenotypic differences associated with soil and geography. Utilizing a combination of phylogenomic and population genomic methods with sampling from across the range, we found that P. subserratum contains at least eight distinct clades. Specialization onto white-sand soils has evolved independently at least twice within the species; however, phenotype is not correlated with soil type. Finally, cryptic diversity at the base of the Andes is associated with elevational shifts. Together these results lend support to the hypothesis that common and widespread Amazon tree species may not represent evolutionary cohesive units. Instead, these dominant species may more commonly represent species complexes, undergoing evolutionary transitions on a trajectory to become multiple range-restricted, specialist species.

A mixed-method analysis: Disaster preparedness of families with children with access and functional needs.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to evaluate challenges to disaster preparedness of families with children with access and functional needs (CAFN). CAFN are a particularly vulnerable population, with increased risk of morbidity and mortality in the event of an emergency. Families with CAFN require specialized preparedness plans and support from multidisciplinary teams; however, previous research has shown that they are not adequately prepared. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was used involving twenty parents/guardians of CAFN. Questionnaires and focus groups were conducted in three school districts in a large metropolitan county. Data were analyzed using a content analysis approach. RESULTS: Majority of CAFN had behavioral and sensory impairment. Eighty-five percent of families did not have a written communication plan, and forty percent did not have a three-day emergency kit. Sixtyfive percent did not have a copy of their child's medical emergency plan. Focus groups identified multiple barriers to preparedness, including coping with disability, poor communication, difficulty with knowledge acquisition, social-cognitive factors, and external factors. CONCLUSION: Disaster preparedness among families with CAFN is low. The presence of chronic medical conditions, disabilities, and technology or medication dependence requires more detailed and strategic planning on the part of the parents, schools, healthcare providers, and communities.

The contribution of multiple barriers to reproduction between edaphically divergent lineages in the Amazonian tree Protium subserratum (Burseraceae).

Disentangling the strength and importance of barriers to reproduction that arise between diverging lineages is central to our understanding of species origin and maintenance. To date, the vast majority of studies investigating the importance of different barriers to reproduction in plants have focused on short-lived temperate taxa while studies of reproductive isolation in trees and tropical taxa are rare. Here, we systematically examine multiple barriers to reproduction in an Amazonian tree, Protium subserratum (Burseraceae) with diverging lineages of soil specialist ecotypes. Using observational, molecular, distributional, and experimental data, we aimed to quantify the contributions of individual prezygotic and postzygotic barriers including ecogeographic isolation, flowering phenology, pollinator assemblage, pollen adhesion, pollen germination, pollen tube growth, seed development, and hybrid fitness to total reproductive isolation between the ecotypes. We were able to identify five potential barriers to reproduction including ecogeographic isolation, phenological differences, differences in pollinator assemblages, differential pollen adhesion, and low levels of hybrid seed development. We demonstrate that ecogeographic isolation is a strong and that a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic prezygotic and postzygotic barriers may be acting to maintain near complete reproductive isolation between edaphically divergent populations of the tropical tree, P. subserratum.