Recently, U-M researchers including Diana Medellín-Zabala, Stephen A. Smith, and Chris Dick, published the paper "Assembling the Neotropical Tree Flora: Andean Uplift and the Historical Biogeography of the Brazil Nut Family (Lecythidaceae)" in the Journal of Biography.
ABSTRACT
The assembly of tropical tree floras is complex, involving many lineage-specific histories; however, focusing on the biogeographic history of diverse clades can reveal general patterns. We investigated the historical biogeography of the ecologically important Brazil nut clade (Lecythidoideae) to: (1) expand prior phylogenies with greater sampling of the early branching Andean-centered subclades; (2) infer the ages and dispersal histories of the major subclades; and (3) document instances of niche evolution within Lecythidoideae, with an emphasis on elevational range shifts.
