Aim: Colonisation of new areas may entail shifts in diversification rates linked to biogeographic movement (dispersification), which may involve niche evolution if species were not pre-adapted to the new environments. Scleria (Cyperaceae) includes c. 250 species and has a pantropical distribution suggesting an extraordinary capacity for long-distance dispersal and colonisation. We investigate patterns of diversification in Scleria, and whether they are coupled with colonisation events, climate niche shifts or both. Location: Tropics and subtropics. Taxon:...

Aim: Historical processes that shaped current diversity patterns of seaweeds remain poorly understood. Using Dictyotales, a globally distributed order of brown seaweeds as a model, we test if historical biogeographical and diversification patterns are comparable across clades. Dictyotales contain some 22 genera, three of which, Dictyota, Lobophora and Padina, are exceptionally diverse. Specifically we test if the evolutionary processes in these clades that shaped their latitudinal diversity patterns are in line with the tropical conservatism,...

1. Climate change will increase the level of drought stress experienced by plant communities, but the spatial distribution of projected changes in dryness remains highly uncertain. Species can, to some extent, deal with climate uncertainty through natural variation in adaptive responses to environmental heterogeneity and predictability. Biodiversity conservation could thus target populations pre-adapted to climatic heterogeneity to anticipate climate uncertainty. Disentangling evolution of trait means vs. trait plasticity, however, requires a sampling design with genetic...