chromploid: An R package for chromosome number evolution across the plant tree of life.

Premise Of The Study: Polyploidy has profound evolutionary consequences for land plants. Despite the availability of large phylogenetic and chromosomal data sets, estimating the rates of polyploidy and chromosomal evolution across the tree of life remains a challenging, computationally complex problem. We introduce the R package chromploid, which allows scientists to perform inference of chromosomal evolution rates across large phylogenetic trees.

Fluctuating fire regimes and their historical effects on genetic variation in an endangered shrubland specialist.

The Pleistocene was characterized by worldwide shifts in community compositions. Some of these shifts were a result of changes in fire regimes, which influenced the distribution of species belonging to fire-dependent communities. We studied an endangered juniper-oak shrubland specialist, the black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla).