Molecular phylogeny and divergence time of Harpalyce (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae), a lineage with amphitropical diversification in seasonally dry forests and savannas.

Our knowledge of the systematics of the papilionoid legume tribe Brongniartieae has greatly benefitted from recent advances in molecular phylogenetics. The tribe was initially described to include species marked by a strongly bilabiate calyx and an embryo with a straight radicle, but recent research has placed taxa from the distantly related core Sophoreae and Millettieae within it. Despite these advances, the most species-rich genera within the Brongniartieae are still not well studied, and their morphological and biogeographical evolution remains poorly understood.

Underlying and proximate drivers of biodiversity changes in Mesoamerican biosphere reserves.

Protected areas are of paramount relevance to conserving wildlife and ecosystem contributions to people. Yet, their conservation success is increasingly threatened by human activities including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and species overexploitation. Thus, understanding the underlying and proximate drivers of anthropogenic threats is urgently needed to improve protected areas' effectiveness, especially in the biodiversity-rich tropics.

Biogeographic regionalization by spatial and environmental components: Numerical proposal.

Regionalization through the analysis of species groups offers important advantages in conservation biology, compared to the single taxon approach in areas of high species richness. We use a systematic framework for biogeographic regionalization at a regional scale based on species turnover and environmental drivers (climate variables and soil properties) mainly of herbaceous plant species richness. To identify phytogeographic regions in the Balsas Depression (BD), we use Asteraceae species, a family widely distributed in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) and the most diverse of the vascular plants in Mexico.

A molecular phylogeny reveals the Cuban enigmatic genus Behaimia as a new piece in the Brongniartieae puzzle of papilionoid legumes.

The papilionoid legume tribe Brongniartieae comprises a collection of 15 genera with disparate morphologies that were previously positioned in at least four remotely related tribes. The Brongniartieae displays a wide geographical disjunction between Australia and the New World and previous phylogenetic studies had provided conflicting results about the relationships between the American and Australian genera. We carry out phylogenetic analyses of (1) a plastid matK dataset extensively sampled across legumes to solve the enigmatic relationship of the Cuban-endemic monospecific genus Behaimia; and (2) multilocus datasets with focus on all genera ever referred to Brongniartieae.

Genetic diversity and structure of wild populations of the tropical dry forest tree Jacaratia mexicana (Brassicales: Caricaceae) at a local scale in Mexico.

The tropical dry forest is a greatly endangered ecosystem, from which Jacaratia mexicana is a native tree. With the aim to assess the levels of genetic variation and population structure, four wild populations of J. mexicana were studied in the Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve, Morelos, Mexico.