Gregory M. Plunkett & Porter P. Lowry II NSF 0613728 & 0614152
Near two-thirds of the species in the ginseng family, Araliaceae, belong to the tropical genus Schefflera (about 1100 species, including >500 that have not been formally named). However, the investigators' research on Araliaceae has demonstrated that Schefflera is not a natural group, comprising instead five unrelated lineages concentrated in four different parts of the world. This project will begin to untangle the confusion surrounding Schefflera by focusing on two of these groups, one centered in Madagascar and another in New Caledonia. The investigators will (1) refine species limits by examining specimens and conducting field work, (2) evaluate evolutionary relationships and geographic history using DNA sequences, and (3) assess the conservation importance of the rarest and most threatened species. The need to preserve biodiversity is universally recognized, but progress lags far behind international goals, and taxonomists have a major role to play by defining the basic unit of conservation (species), assessing threats, and providing an evolutionary context for making informed decisions that maximize biodiversity conservation. This study provides an explicit approach for meeting these goals for a set of model species (Schefflera) from two globally-important biodiversity hotspots, and delivering these results to the scientific community, relevant governmental agencies, and the general public through both technical and user-friendly outlets. The project also serves as a bridge between three generations of scientists by involving the principle investigators, an emeritus-level botanist, and students.
