Publications by authors named "Brian Franzone"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how population genetic variation in parasitic plants, specifically Rafflesiaceae, is influenced by their interactions with host plants.
- Using microsatellite markers, researchers analyzed genetic relationships among parasite and host samples, finding that parasites on the same host are closely related, suggesting limited seed dispersal.
- The results highlight the conservation importance of host plants, as losing an infected vine could significantly reduce genetic diversity in the Rafflesiaceae species.
Phenology is a key aspect of plant success. Recent research has demonstrated that herbarium specimens can provide important information on plant phenology. Massive digitization efforts have the potential to greatly expand herbarium-based phenological research, but also pose a serious challenge regarding efficient data collection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiogeography and community ecology can mutually illuminate the formation of a regional species pool or biome. Here, we apply phylogenetic methods to a large and diverse plant clade, Malpighiaceae, to characterize the formation of its species pool in Mexico, and its occupancy of the seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) biome that occurs there. We find that the ~162 species of Mexican Malpighiaceae represent ~33 dispersals from South America beginning in the Eocene and continuing until the Pliocene (~46.
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