Poster

         Macroevolution

Investigating the evolution of floral traits and fusion using herbarium specimens in Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae)

Presenting Author
Leann Janzekovich
Description
The clade Lonicera is distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and comprises ca.140 species that are united by flowers with tubular corollas. Lonicera species are known to be pollinated by bees, hummingbirds, and hawkmoths, and adaptations to animal pollination may have contributed to the evolution of differences in flower shape and corolla tube among the Lonicera species we observe today. To date, there has not been a comprehensive study of floral traits across the entire clade, largely owing to the lack of a well-resolved phylogeny. Here we use a RAD-seq tree of 127 species of Lonicera to describe the evolution of Lonicera flowers. We explored 23 floral traits including corolla width and length, flower position, ovary width, flower color, anther position, and more in addition to fusion of extra floral organs such as bracts and bracteoles. Ancestral character state reconstructions of discrete traits were examined using three models of morphological evolution to determine the best fit of describing the evolutionary history of these character traits. First, we describe the evolutionary history of floral features using a near-complete species sample tree. Then, we will discuss possible correlated shifts in floral traits such as changes in floral tube length and width and flower color as well as variously fused structures that correspond to possible pollinator shifts and/or parallel shifts in floral traits. This research provides an important foundation for future studies of fusion across the clade as well as the pollination ecology and possible pollinator shifts among species of Lonicera.