Data from: Repeated evolution of vertebrate pollination syndromes in a recently diverged Andean plant clade

While specialized interactions, including those involving plants and their pollinators, are often invoked to explain high species diversity, they are rarely explored at macroevolutionary scales. We investigate the dynamic evolution of hummingbird and bat pollination syndromes in the centropogonid clade (Lobelioideae: Campanulaceae), an Andean-centered group of ∼550 angiosperm species. We demonstrate that flowers hypothesized to be adapted to different pollinators based on flower color fall into distinct regions of morphospace, and this is validated by morphology of species with known pollinators. This supports the existence of pollination syndromes in centropogonids, an idea corroborated by ecological studies. We further demonstrate that hummingbird pollination is ancestral, and that bat pollination has evolved ∼13 times independently, with ∼11 reversals. This convergence is associated with correlated evolution of floral traits within selective regimes corresponding to pollination syndrome. Collectively, our results suggest that floral morphological diversity is extremely labile, likely resulting from selection imposed by pollinators. Finally, even though this clade's rapid diversification is partially attributed to their association with vertebrate pollinators, we detect no difference in diversification rates between hummingbird- and bat-pollinated lineages. Our study demonstrates the utility of pollination syndromes as a proxy for ecological relationships in macroevolutionary studies of certain species-rich clades.

尽管诸如植物与传粉者这类特化种间互作常被用以阐释高物种多样性的成因，但此类互作在宏观演化尺度下的研究却鲜有开展。本研究针对以安第斯山脉为分布中心、包含约550种被子植物的尖萼花分支（centropogonid clade，桔梗科Campanulaceae：半边莲亚科Lobelioideae），探讨了蜂鸟与蝙蝠传粉综合征（pollination syndromes）的动态演化过程。研究发现，基于花色被推测适配不同传粉者的花朵，其形态空间分布存在显著分化，且该结论可通过已知传粉者物种的花部形态数据得到验证。该结果支持尖萼花类群中存在传粉综合征的假说，且该假说已得到生态学研究的佐证。本研究进一步证实，蜂鸟传粉为该类群的祖征性状，而蝙蝠传粉已独立演化约13次，且伴随约11次演化逆转事件。这种演化趋同现象，与对应传粉综合征的选择模式下花部性状的协同演化密切相关。综合来看，本研究结果表明花部形态多样性具有极强的演化不稳定性，该现象大概率由传粉者施加的选择压力所驱动。最后，尽管该分支的快速物种分化部分归因于其与脊椎动物传粉者的共生关系，但本研究并未发现蜂鸟传粉与蝙蝠传粉支系间的分化速率存在显著差异。本研究证实，在某些物种丰富的类群的宏观演化研究中，传粉综合征可作为生态互作关系的可靠替代指标。