Plant Systematics Required plant collection Botany 400 information on Canvas http://botany.wisc.edu/courses/botany_400/ Kenneth J. Sytsma Patricia Chan Pick up course syllabus from front desk Botany Department University of Wisconsin 1 2 What is Systematics — or Why Study Systematics? What is Systematics? ? or Systematics Taxonomy Why Study Systematics? Systematics is a broad field encompassing 3 major areas Read: Daly et al.’s Systematics Agenda 2020 • Taxonomy • Phylogenetics • Biosystematics 3 4 1 What is Systematics — or Why What is Systematics — or Why Study Systematics? Study Systematics? Taxonomy: identification, Taxonomy nomenclature, classification Ft. Brady Sault St. Marie Michigan Biosystematics Phylogenetics Cirsium pitcheri Eaton Zina Pitcher Dune thistle - family Asteraceae 5 6 What is Systematics — or Why What is Systematics — or Why Study Systematics? Study Systematics? Phylogeny: relationships of taxa Phylogeny: relationships of taxa To what is the dune thistle related? Cirsium canescens Nutt. Cirsium pitcheri Eaton Cirsium foliosum Hook DC Cirsium pitcheri Eaton — Prairie thistle Dune thistle - family Asteraceae — Elk thistle Dune thistle - family Asteraceae Closest relative of the dune thistle? Closest relative of the dune thistle? 7 8 2 What is Systematics — or Why What is Systematics — or Why Study Systematics? Study Systematics? Phylogeny: “pattern” of evolution Phylogeny: “pattern” of evolution - for family Asteraceae Carduus acanthoides Cirsium muticum Cirsium foliosum Cirsium pitcheri Common ancestor of dune and elk thistles Common ancestor of all thistles Common ancestor of thistles and other genera of the thistle tribe 9 10 What is Systematics — or Why What is Systematics — or Why Study Systematics? Study Systematics? Biosystematics: “process” of evolution Biosystematics: “process” of evolution Cirsium foliosum Cirsium pitcheri Cirsium foliosum Cirsium pitcheri How, when, where did this How, when, where did this speciation event occur? speciation event occur? During Pleistocene alternating How much genetic variation is in shifts of ice fronts ? the pitcher thistle? 11 12 3 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Scientific community obsessed with Weird and exotic life finding life on other planets – weird and forms exist on Earth! exotic life forms • 1.4 X 106 species discovered and described • but can not estimate the number of species to an order of magnitude! Kepler-186 f in Cygnus constellation 492 light years 13 14 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota • we do know that there are 24,863,177 catalogued books in the Library of Congress classification system as 6 6 • 1.4 X 10 species of Aug. 31, 2020! • 1.4 X 10 species discovered and described discovered and described • but can not estimate the • but can not estimate the number of species to an number of species to an order of magnitude! order of magnitude! • insects and microbes problematic 15 16 4 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Temperate inventory nearly complete Temperate inventory nearly complete • Regional or local floras • Regional or local floras still important still important 17 18 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Projecting species niche models to 2070 under climate change model Spalink et al. 2018 American Journal of Botany DNA Barcode phylogenetic tree of Wisconsin flora 19 20 5 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Tropical inventory wide opened Tropical inventory wide opened • 4/5ths of 250-300K • 4/5ths of 250-300K angiosperms in tropics angiosperms in tropics • 4 ha in neotropical cloud forest >> 2400 spp in WI! 21 22 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Tropical inventory wide opened Tropical inventory wide opened • 4/5ths of 250-300K • 4/5ths of 250-300K angiosperms in tropics angiosperms in tropics • 4 ha in neotropical cloud • 4 ha in neotropical cloud forest >> 2400 spp in WI! forest >> 2400 spp in WI! • > 200 species of orchids = 8 Camp Randall stadium playing fields 23 24 6 Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Systematics — Goal 1: Inventory Earth’s Biota Tropical inventory wide opened Tropical systematics at the cutting edge • 4/5ths of 250-300K • biodiversity endangered angiosperms in tropics • 4 ha in neotropical cloud forest >> 2400 spp in WI! • > 200 species of orchids Lisianthius habuenis Sytsma sp. nov. • 10%+ undescribed! • New species endemic to one lowland cloud forest peak, Cerro Habu, central Panama - in 1983 New mycotrophic genus (monocot) from Ecuador found by Botany grad • 1985, the forest - and the species - were gone; one of the 13,800 species of plants E.O. Wilson had projected to disappear in the last century Catherine Woodward in 2005 25 26 Systematics — Goal 2: Identification and Systematics — Goal 2: Identification and Communication: Nomenclature Communication: Nomenclature • to many - keying, • to many - keying, identifying, putting names identifying, putting names on organisms is on organisms is systematics (= taxonomy) systematics (= taxonomy) • “species” names • learn skills to do this – (binomial, common, smart phone apps as polynomial, uninomial) well! Solidago canadensis - Canada goldenrod 27 28 7 Systematics — Goal 2: Identification and Systematics — Goal 2: Identification and Communication: Nomenclature Communication: Nomenclature • “words” and “vocabulary” • but how do we “define” species? • systematics integral to other disciplines • ongoing issue that we have still not resolved! Ecology Biogeography Genetics Systematics Morphology Evolution Development Cytology Arabidopsis thaliana - Thal’s mouse-ear cress Arabidopsis thaliana - Thal’s mouse-ear cress 29 30 Systematics — Goal 3: Orderly, Logical Systematics — Goal 3: Orderly, Logical Sequence of Classification Sequence of Classification • place species in logical framework that relates organisms with one another • “encyclopedia” for the “vocabulary” of names Solidago canadensis - Canada goldenrod 31 32 8 Systematics — Goal 3: Orderly, Logical Systematics — Goal 4: Demonstrate Sequence of Classification Evolutionary Implications of Biodiversity • place species in logical • detect evolution at work, present and past, framework that relates understand its pathways and results organisms with one another • substance or “meat” of systematic biology • “encyclopedia” for the “vocabulary” of names • “information-retrieval” as in herbarium or in web-based resources Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium 33 34 Systematics — Goal 4: Demonstrate Systematics — Goal 4: Demonstrate Evolutionary Implications of Biodiversity Evolutionary Implications of Biodiversity • systematics looks • systematics looks at the origin of at the origin of ancient diversity: more recent diversity: • back in time 500 million ya to the movement of plants onto land Adaptive radiation of Lobeliaceae on the Hawaiian Islands in last 15 my Silurian view - plants conquer land 35 36 9 Systematics — Goal 4: Demonstrate Systematics — Goal 4: Demonstrate Evolutionary Implications of Biodiversity Evolutionary Implications of Biodiversity • and systematics • systematics looks looks at the origin at process and of very recent pattern diversity: • morphological • rise of polyploid and molecular species in less characters than 100 years! • tree metaphor = genealogy = phylogeny Tree of Life Tragopogon - goat’s beard www.tolweb.org/tree/ 37 38 Plant systematics has not outlived its usefulness; it is just getting underway on an attractively infinite task. Lincoln Constance 39 10.