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Host–parasite interactions are influenced by present and past eco‐evolutionary interactions and the local environment. An ecological community defines the potential host range of each parasite and the potential parasite diversity of each host species. Past and present processes translate potential to realised interaction niches of parasite and host species. Host–parasite interactions are antagonistic, which may slow the saturation of their interaction niches. Intervality, a property of bipartite networks, measures saturation of interaction niches. Intervality of a community increases as the interaction niches of species of one guild (e.g. hosts) become saturated for their interactions with another guild (e.g. parasites). Characteristics driving intervality in host and parasite communities are largely unknown, as well as the effect of environmental change on intervality of these communities. In our study, we assess if the characteristics 'phylogenetic relatedness' and 'overlap in ecological interactions' explain intervality of rodent host–helminth parasite communities. In addition, we contrast intervality of these communities from habitats that differ in their history of human‐driven modification. We performed the analyses for the interaction niches of both parasites and hosts, independently. Our results indicated that host and parasite communities were non‐interval or significantly less interval than expected by chance. Phylogenetic relatedness and overlap in ecological interactions did not explain the maximum values of intervality. We speculate that antagonistic coevolution in host–parasite communities may hinder communities to reach saturation, which would explain why it is difficult to find the characteristics that explain intervality of a community. Interestingly, intervality of the interaction niche of parasites (host range) increased with habitat modification (i.e. saturation increased), whereas intervality of the interaction niche of hosts (parasite diversity) decreased as habitat modification increased. These opposite trends suggest that interaction niches of parasites and hosts respond differently to habitat modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liverworts are an ancient plant lineage that occurs worldwide with the highest species richness in cool and humid habitats such as tropical montane and temperate rain forests. It has been proposed that liverworts originated under such temperate climatic conditions and have later expanded into more tropical conditions, but how this is reflected in their phylogenetic diversity along the strong climatic gradients associated with elevation remains unexplored. We studied the phylogenetic diversity of regional liverwort floras along the elevational gradient in the tropical Andes, comparing indices that emphasize deeper and shallower phylogenetic relationships, and relating these to temperature‐ and precipitation‐related variables, as well as to climatic extremes and seasonality. We found that whereas liverwort species richness peaks at around 2000 m a.s.l., richness‐corrected phylogenetic diversity increases with elevation, and the standardized effect of size of phylogenetic diversity is highest at 2500–4000 m a.s.l. This is in accordance with an origin of liverworts under cool conditions, followed by more recent diversification in warmer climates at lower elevations. We further found temperature‐related climatic parameters to be stronger predictors of phylogenetic diversity of liverworts than precipitation‐related variables, and climatic extremes to have a stronger influence than climatic seasonality. We interpret these patterns as reflecting the physiological challenges of adapting to low temperatures as well as rare occurrences of extreme climatic events. All this reveals a strong signal of the evolutionary dynamics of this ancient plant lineage linked with its physiological adaptations to climatic conditions. The age of this group and its poikilohydric nature, i.e. its inability to regulate water loss, lead to patterns that contrast with those of vascular plants, allowing for discerning evolutionary generalities that are independent of physiology and lineage age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Location Taxon Methods Results Main Conclusions Most plant groups originated under tropical conditions, leading to the hypothesis of tropical niche conservatism, according to which species assemblages of a clade originating and diversifying in tropical climates are expected to have low phylogenetic diversity and dispersion in temperate climates because only few lineages have adapted to these novel conditions. The opposite may be expected for clades originating under temperate conditions, but this temperate niche conservatism hypothesis has not been tested for a broad temperature gradient including both tropical and arctic climates. Liverworts are thought to have originated in temperate climates, and may thus follow the pattern of temperate niche conservatism. Here, we test this hypothesis using regional liverwort floras across a nearly full temperature gradient from tropical through temperate to arctic climates in North America. In addition, we investigate whether temperature‐related variables and climate extreme variables play a more important role in determining phylogenetic structure of liverwort assemblages, compared to precipitation‐related variables and climate seasonality variables, respectively.North America.Liverworts (Marchantiophyta).Phylogenetic diversity (measured as mean pairwise distance) and phylogenetic dispersion (measured as standardised effect size of mean pairwise distance) in liverworts in regional floras in North America were related to latitude and climatic variables. Variation partitioning analysis was used to assess the relative importance of temperature‐ versus precipitation‐related variables and of climate extremes versus seasonality on phylogenetic diversity and dispersion.Phylogenetic diversity and dispersion in liverworts is highest in temperate climates, compared to both tropical and arctic climates. Temperature‐related variables and climate extreme variables explained more variation in phylogenetic diversity and dispersion of liverwort assemblages than did precipitation‐related variables and climate seasonality variables, respectively.Variations in phylogenetic diversity and dispersion in liverworts along the latitudinal gradient in North America are consistent with the temperate niche conservatism hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The neighborhood effect has become an important framework with which to study the mechanisms that maintain the coexistence of tree species. Phylogenetic relatedness among neighboring plants directly affects species coexistence and the maintenance of tree diversity. And some studies have reported that seedling performance is negatively correlated with phylogenetic relatedness, which termed phylogenetic negative density dependence. Soil-borne fungal pathogens affected seedling performance of phylogenetically related host species, i.e., phylogenetic Janzen–Connell effect. Seedlings may be particularly vulnerable to habitat and neighbor characteristics. Although previous studies have demonstrated the influence of neighborhood effects, phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat filtering on seedling survival, growth, and mortality, the effect of variation in these factors on seedling abundance remains unclear. To address this question, we used a 4-ha (200 m × 200 m) and monitored four-year (2020–2023) seedling dataset from a mid-montane humid evergreen broad-leaved subtropical forest in the Gaoligong Mountains, Yunnan, Southwestern China, and which consisted of 916 seedlings belonging to 56 species. The results of generalized linear mixed models showed no significant effect of conspecific adult neighbors on seedling abundance at any of the intervals evaluated. In contrast, we found evidence of phylogenetic distance density dependence in the forests of the Gaoligong Mountains. Specifically, there was a significant positive effect of the relative average phylogenetic distance between heterospecific adult neighbors and focal seedlings on focal seedling abundance in 2020; however, the relative average phylogenetic distance between heterospecific seedling neighbors and focal seedlings had a significant negative effect on seedling abundance over the four-year period (2020–2023). Among the habitat factors, only light (canopy opening) had a negative effect on seedling abundance in all four years. Light resources may be a limiting factor for seedlings, and determine seedling dynamics in subtropical forests. Overall, our results demonstrated that phylogenetic density dependence and habitat filtering affected subtropical seedling abundance. Our findings provide new evidence of the impact of phylogenetic density dependence on seedling abundance in a subtropical mid-montane humid evergreen broad-leaved forest and highlight the need to incorporate the neighborhood effect, phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat factors in models assessing seedling abundance.

Relict subtropical coniferous forests in China face severe fragmentation, resulting in declining populations, and some are under significant threat from invasive alien species. Despite the crucial importance of understanding forest dynamics, knowledge gaps persist, particularly regarding the impact of invasive plants on vulnerable natives like Keteleeria evelyniana. In this study, we investigated the impact of invasive plants on the regeneration of forests dominated by K. evelyniana, a subtropical relict species in southwestern China. For this purpose, we characterized forest dynamics of 160 forest plots featuring K. evelyniana as the primary dominant species and determined whether the presence of invasive plants was correlated with regeneration of K. evelyniana. We identified four distinct forest types in which K. evelyniana was dominant. We found that radial growth of K. evelyniana trees is faster in younger age-classes today than it was for older trees at the same age. The population structure of K. evelyniana in each forest type exhibited a multimodal age-class distribution. However, three forest types lacked established saplings younger than 10 years old, a situation attributed to the dense coverage of the invasive alien Ageratina adenophora. This invasive species resulted in a reduction of understory species diversity. Additionally, our analysis uncovered a significant negative correlation in phylogenetic relatedness (net relatedness index) between native and invasive alien plant species in eastern Yunnan. This suggests closely related invasive species face heightened competition, hindering successful invasion. Taken together, our findings indicate that successful establishment and habitat restoration of K. evelyniana seedling/saplings require effective measures to control invasive plants.

Aim: Beta‐diversity quantifies the change in taxonomic and phylogenetic composition between areas, and is a scalar between local (α) and regional (γ) diversity. Geographic distance, which reflects dispersal limitation, and climatic distance, which reflects environmental filtering, are major drivers of β‐diversity. Here, we analyse a comprehensive data set of angiosperms in regional floras across Africa to assess the relationships of β‐diversity, and its components, to three major types of environmental variables (current climate, Quaternary climate change and topographic heterogeneity) thought to drive β‐diversity. Location: Africa. Taxon: Angiosperms. Methods: Africa was divided into 27 regions. Species lists of angiosperms for each region were collated. The relationships of both taxonomic and phylogenetic β‐diversity, and their respective turnover and nestedness components, with geographic and environmental distances were assessed. Results: This study showed that (1) regions of the lowest β‐diversity are located in moist tropical climates, (2) the turnover and nestedness components of β‐diversity are negatively correlated with each other, (3) taxonomic β‐diversity is higher than phylogenetic β‐diversity across Africa, (4) variation in β‐diversity of angiosperms is more strongly associated with current climate than with Quaternary climate change and topographic heterogeneity and (5) the variation in taxonomic β‐diversity and its turnover component that is independently explained by geographic distance is much larger than that is independently explained by climatic distance for angiosperms in Africa. Main Conclusions: The finding that geographic distance explained more variation than climatic distance suggests that dispersal limitation plays a greater role than environmental filtering in shaping angiosperm β‐diversity in Africa. Of climatic factors, current climate plays a more important role than Quaternary climate change in shaping angiosperm β‐diversity in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neighborhood effect has become an important framework with which to study the mechanisms that maintain the coexistence of tree species. Phylogenetic relatedness among neighboring plants directly affects species coexistence and the maintenance of tree diversity. And some studies have reported that seedling performance is negatively correlated with phylogenetic relatedness, which termed phylogenetic negative density dependence. Soil-borne fungal pathogens affected seedling performance of phylogenetically related host species, i.e., phylogenetic Janzen–Connell effect. Seedlings may be particularly vulnerable to habitat and neighbor characteristics. Although previous studies have demonstrated the influence of neighborhood effects, phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat filtering on seedling survival, growth, and mortality, the effect of variation in these factors on seedling abundance remains unclear. To address this question, we used a 4-ha (200 m × 200 m) and monitored four-year (2020–2023) seedling dataset from a mid-montane humid evergreen broad-leaved subtropical forest in the Gaoligong Mountains, Yunnan, Southwestern China, and which consisted of 916 seedlings belonging to 56 species. The results of generalized linear mixed models showed no significant effect of conspecific adult neighbors on seedling abundance at any of the intervals evaluated. In contrast, we found evidence of phylogenetic distance density dependence in the forests of the Gaoligong Mountains. Specifically, there was a significant positive effect of the relative average phylogenetic distance between heterospecific adult neighbors and focal seedlings on focal seedling abundance in 2020; however, the relative average phylogenetic distance between heterospecific seedling neighbors and focal seedlings had a significant negative effect on seedling abundance over the four-year period (2020–2023). Among the habitat factors, only light (canopy opening) had a negative effect on seedling abundance in all four years. Light resources may be a limiting factor for seedlings, and determine seedling dynamics in subtropical forests. Overall, our results demonstrated that phylogenetic density dependence and habitat filtering affected subtropical seedling abundance. Our findings provide new evidence of the impact of phylogenetic density dependence on seedling abundance in a subtropical mid-montane humid evergreen broad-leaved forest and highlight the need to incorporate the neighborhood effect, phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat factors in models assessing seedling abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Latitudinal diversity gradients have been intimately linked to the tropical niche conservatism hypothesis, which posits that there has been a strong filter due to the challenges faced by ancestral tropical lineages to adapt to low temperatures and colonize extra-tropical regions. In liverworts, species richness is higher towards the tropics, but the centres of diversity of the basal lineages are distributed across extra-tropical regions, pointing to the colonization of tropical regions by phylogenetically clustered assemblages of species of temperate origin. Here, we test this hypothesis through analyses of the relationship between macroclimatic variation and phylogenetic diversity in Chinese liverworts. Methods Phylogenetic diversity metrics and their standardized effect sizes for liverworts in each of the 28 regional floras at the province level in China were related to latitude and six climate variables using regression analysis. We conducted variation partitioning analyses to determine the relative importance of each group of climatic variables. Key Results We find that the number of species decreases with latitude, whereas phylogenetic diversity shows the reverse pattern, and that phylogenetic diversity is more strongly correlated with temperature-related variables compared with precipitation-related variables. Conclusions We interpret the opposite patterns observed in phylogenetic diversity and species richness in terms of a more recent origin of tropical diversity coupled with higher extinctions in temperate regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Globally, biodiversity is unevenly distributed, as a result of varying environmental conditions and regionally different historical processes. The influence of the latter on current diversity patterns is poorly understood. We explore geographic patterns of matches and mismatches between phylogenetic relatedness metrics measuring different depths of evolutionary history and investigate the effects of evolutionary legacy at different evolutionary depths on species density of ferns. Methods: We divided the globe into 392 geographic regions on land, and collated species lists of ferns for each geographic region. We related species richness to phylogenetic metrics reflecting different depths of evolutionary history (standardized effect sizes of mean nearest taxon distance and mean pairwise distance, MNTDses and MPDses, respectively) for ferns in regional floras across the world. Location: Global. Time Period: Current. Taxon: Ferns. Results: We show that different centers of fern diversity have strikingly different phylogenetic composition. We find that overall fern species diversity is negatively correlated with both MNTDses and MPDses, so that regions with high species diversity tend to have clustered species assemblages, whereas species‐poor regions tend to have overdispersed species assemblages. At the global extent, MNTDses and MPDses together explained 62.2%, 19.3%, and 65.7% of the variation in species diversity for all ferns as a whole, non‐polypod ferns, and polypods, respectively. Main Conclusions: Our study suggests that current geographic patterns of fern species richness are driven, at least in part, by evolutionary history of ferns, which varies among biogeographic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density dependence and habitat filtering have been proposed to aid in understanding community assembly and species coexistence. Phylogenetic relatedness between neighbors was used as a proxy for assessing the degree of ecological similarity among species. There are different conclusions regarding the neighborhood effect in previous studies with different phylogenetic indices or at different spatiotemporal scales. However, the effects of density dependence, neighbor phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat filtering on seedling survival with different phylogenetic indices or at different temporal and spatial scales are poorly understood. We monitored 916 seedlings representing 56 woody plant species within a 4‐ha forest dynamics plot for 4 years (from 2020 to 2023) in a subtropical mid‐mountain moist evergreen broad‐leaved forest in the Gaoligong Mountains, Southwestern China. Using generalized linear mixed models, we tested whether and how four phylogenetic indices: total phylogenetic distance (TOTPd), average phylogenetic distance (AVEPd), relative average phylogenetic distance (APd′), and relative nearest taxon phylogenetic distance (NTPd′), three temporals (1, 2, and 3 years), and spatial scales (1, 2, and 4 ha) affect the effect of density dependence, phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering on seedling survival. We found evidence of the effect of phylogenetic density dependence in the 4‐ha forest dynamics plot. The effects of density dependence, phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering on seedling survival were influenced by phylogenetic indices and temporal and spatial scales. The effects of phylogenetic density dependence and habitat filtering on seedling survival were more conspicuous only at 1‐year intervals, compared with those at 2‐ and 3‐year intervals. We did not detect any effects of neighborhood or habitat factors on seedling survival at small scales (1 and 2 ha), although these effects were more evident at the largest spatial scale (4 ha). These findings highlight that the effects of local neighborhoods and habitats on seedling survival are affected by phylogenetic indices as well as temporal and spatial scales. Our study suggested that phylogenetic index APd′, shortest time scale (1 year), and largest spatial scales (4 ha) were suitable for neighborhood studies in a mid‐mountain moist evergreen broad‐leaved forest in Gaoligong Mountains. Phylogenetic indices and spatiotemporal scales have important impacts on the results of the neighborhood studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exotic plant invasions threaten biodiversity and are costly to farmers. Land use is a major pathway promoting the spread of exotic plant species; however, little is known about the processes underlying the success of exotic plants in tropical agricultural landscapes. Focussing on the heterogeneous smallholder landscapes of north‐eastern Madagascar, we studied exotic plants of understorey communities across a land‐use intensity gradient from unburned lands (old‐growth forests, forest fragments and forest‐derived vanilla agroforests) to burned ones (fallow‐derived vanilla agroforests, woody fallows and herbaceous fallows).We quantified the absolute species richness, abundance and cover of exotic plants across land‐use types and their proportional contribution to community richness, abundance and cover as indicators of exotic plant invasion. We tested for the effects of land‐use parameters, namely land‐use history, canopy closure and landscape‐level forest cover, on exotic plants. Additionally, we tested whether the phylogenetic relatedness between exotic and native species in the same plot affected invasion success, testing Darwin's naturalisation and pre‐adaptation hypotheses.All indicators of exotic plant invasion were lowest in old‐growth forests and forest fragments and highest in fallow‐derived vanilla agroforests, woody fallows and herbaceous fallows. Absolute and proportional exotic richness were negatively affected by canopy closure, and landscapes with high forest cover had lower proportions of exotic plant richness. High phylogenetic relatedness between exotics and natives was associated with lower proportional richness but higher proportions of exotics in abundance and cover. However, individual exotic species showed contrasting responses to land‐use parameters and relatedness to natives.Synthesis and applications: Our results indicate that maintaining unburned lands, land‐use types with dense canopies and landscapes with high forest cover prevents the spread of exotic plants within the agricultural landscapes of north‐eastern Madagascar. Supporting Darwin's pre‐adaptation hypothesis, exotic plants that are phylogenetically closely related to native plants are more likely to become successful invaders in terms of abundance and cover. Nevertheless, individual species show different responses to land‐use changes and phylogenetic relatedness. Therefore, land‐use decisions and management choices can be tailored to limit the spread of exotic species and to preserve native plants in this global biodiversity hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Tropical regions harbour over half of the world's mammals and birds, but how their communities have assembled over evolutionary timescales remains unclear. To compare eco‐evolutionary assembly processes between tropical mammals and birds, we tested how hypotheses concerning niche conservatism, environmental stability, environmental heterogeneity and time‐for‐speciation relate to tropical vertebrate community phylogenetic and functional structure. Location: Tropical rainforests worldwide. Time period: Present. Major taxa studied: Ground‐dwelling and ground‐visiting mammals and birds. Methods: We used in situ observations of species identified from systematic camera trap sampling as realized communities from 15 protected tropical rainforests in four tropical regions worldwide. We quantified standardized phylogenetic and functional structure for each community and estimated the multi‐trait phylogenetic signal (PS) in ecological strategies for the four regional species pools of mammals and birds. Using linear regression models, we test three non‐mutually exclusive hypotheses by comparing the relative importance of colonization time, palaeo‐environmental changes in temperature and land cover since 3.3 Mya, contemporary seasonality in temperature and productivity and environmental heterogeneity for predicting community phylogenetic and functional structure. Results: Phylogenetic and functional structure showed non‐significant yet varying tendencies towards clustering or dispersion in all communities. Mammals had stronger multi‐trait PS in ecological strategies than birds (mean PS: mammal = 0.62, bird = 0.43). Distinct dominant processes were identified for mammal and bird communities. For mammals, colonization time and elevation range significantly predicted phylogenetic clustering and functional dispersion tendencies respectively. For birds, elevation range and contemporary temperature seasonality significantly predicted phylogenetic and functional clustering tendencies, respectively, while habitat diversity significantly predicted functional dispersion tendencies. Main conclusions: Our results reveal different eco‐evolutionary assembly processes structuring contemporary tropical mammal and bird communities over evolutionary timescales that have shaped tropical diversity. Our study identified marked differences among taxonomic groups in the relative importance of historical colonization and sensitivity to environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Revealing factors and mechanisms in determining species coexistence are crucial to community ecology, but studies using gut microbiota data are still lacking. Methods: Using gut microbiota data of 556 Brandt's voles from 37 treatments in eight experiments, we examined the relationship of species co-occurrence of gut microbiota in Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) with genetic distance (or genetic relatedness), community diversity, and several environmental variables. Results: We found that the species co-occurrence index (a larger index indicates a higher co-occurrence probability) of gut microbiota in Brandt's voles was negatively associated with the genetic distance between paired ASVs and the number of cohabitating voles in the experimental space (a larger number represents more crowding social stress), but positively with Shannon diversity index, grass diets (representing natural foods), and non-physical contact within an experimental space (representing less stress). Discussion: Our study demonstrated that high diversity, close genetic relatedness, and favorable living conditions would benefit species cooccurrence of gut microbiota in hosts. Our results provide novel insights into factors and mechanisms that shape the community structure and function of gut microbiota and highlight the significance of preserving the biodiversity of gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The equator‐to‐poles decline in the number of species, namely the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), is the most conspicuous pattern in biology, yet the underlying mechanisms of this pattern remain controversial. Species dispersal could have strong effects on large‐scale species distributions but has rarely been considered in understanding the LDG. Here we sought to examine how dispersal ability may influence the latitudinal phylogenetic patterns of woody angiosperm assemblages. Location: China. Taxon: Woody angiosperms. Methods: Based on a highly supported mega‐phylogeny constructed from plastid genomes, we assessed the patterns of phylogenetic relatedness and dissimilarity of 1184 trees with three different seed dispersal modes (i.e. zoochory, anemochory and autochory) in 12 permanent forest dynamic plots covering tropical, subtropical and temperate zones in China. Results: We found that, compared with zoochorous and anemochorous species, the less vagile autochorous trees exhibited a much weaker latitudinal pattern in phylogenetic relatedness and higher phylogenetic dissimilarity among plots. The phylogenetic dissimilarity pattern of autochorous trees was explained more by geographic distance than environmental factors, consistent with a dominant role for dispersal limitation. Main Conclusions: Our study, for the first time, demonstrates that seed dispersal mode strongly influences the latitudinal phylogenetic patterns of woody angiosperm assemblages in China and highlights the importance of interaction between dispersal limitation and environmental filtering in determining the large‐scale distribution of forest biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Density dependence and habitat filtering have been proposed to aid in understanding community assembly and species coexistence. Phylogenetic relatedness between neighbors was used as a proxy for assessing the degree of ecological similarity among species. There are different conclusions regarding the neighborhood effect in previous studies with different phylogenetic indices or at different spatiotemporal scales. However, the effects of density dependence, neighbor phylogenetic relatedness, and habitat filtering on seedling survival with different phylogenetic indices or at different temporal and spatial scales are poorly understood. We monitored 916 seedlings representing 56 woody plant species within a 4‐ha forest dynamics plot for 4 years (from 2020 to 2023) in a subtropical mid‐mountain moist evergreen broad‐leaved forest in the Gaoligong Mountains, Southwestern China. Using generalized linear mixed models, we tested whether and how four phylogenetic indices: total phylogenetic distance (TOTPd), average phylogenetic distance (AVEPd), relative average phylogenetic distance (APd′), and relative nearest taxon phylogenetic distance (NTPd′), three temporals (1, 2, and 3 years), and spatial scales (1, 2, and 4 ha) affect the effect of density dependence, phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering on seedling survival. We found evidence of the effect of phylogenetic density dependence in the 4‐ha forest dynamics plot. The effects of density dependence, phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering on seedling survival were influenced by phylogenetic indices and temporal and spatial scales. The effects of phylogenetic density dependence and habitat filtering on seedling survival were more conspicuous only at 1‐year intervals, compared with those at 2‐ and 3‐year intervals. We did not detect any effects of neighborhood or habitat factors on seedling survival at small scales (1 and 2 ha), although these effects were more evident at the largest spatial scale (4 ha). These findings highlight that the effects of local neighborhoods and habitats on seedling survival are affected by phylogenetic indices as well as temporal and spatial scales. Our study suggested that phylogenetic index APd′, shortest time scale (1 year), and largest spatial scales (4 ha) were suitable for neighborhood studies in a mid‐mountain moist evergreen broad‐leaved forest in Gaoligong Mountains. Phylogenetic indices and spatiotemporal scales have important impacts on the results of the neighborhood studies.

Beta diversity (β-diversity) is the scalar between local (α) and regional (γ) diversity. Understanding geographic patterns of β-diversity is central to ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology. A full understanding of the origin and maintenance of geographic patterns of β-diversity requires exploring both taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity, as well as their respective turnover and nestedness components, and exploring phylogenetic β-diversity at different evolutionary depths. In this study, we explore and map geographic patterns of β-diversity for angiosperm genera in regional floras across the world. We examine both taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity and their constituent components, and both tip-weighted and basal-weighted phylogenetic β-diversity, and relate them to latitude. On the one hand, our study found that the global distribution of β-diversity is highly heterogeneous. This is the case for both taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity, and for both tip-weighted and basal-weighted phylogenetic β-diversity. On the other hand, our study found that there are highly consistent geographic patterns among different metrics of β-diversity. In most cases, metrics of β-diversity are negatively associated with latitude, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Different metrics of taxonomic β-diversity are strongly and positively correlated with their counterparts of phylogenetic β-diversity.

Malaria remains a global public health challenge. The disease has a great impact in sub-Saharan Africa among children under five years of age and pregnant women. Malaria control programs targeting the parasite and mosquitoes vectors with combinational therapy and insecticide-treated bednets are becoming obsolete due to the phenomenon of resistance, which is a challenge for reducing morbidity and mortality. Malaria vaccines would be effective alternative to the problem of parasite and insecticide resistance, but focal reports of polymorphisms in malaria candidate antigens have made it difficult to design an effective malaria vaccine. Therefore, studies geared towards elucidating the polymorphic pattern and how genes targeted for vaccine design evolve are imperative. We have carried out molecular and genetic analysis of two genes encoding vaccine candidates-the Plasmodium falciparum cell traversal ookinetes and sporozoites (Pfceltos) and P. falciparum reticulocyte binding protein 5 (Pfrh5) in parasite isolates from malaria-infected children in Ibadan, Nigeria to evaluate their genetic diversity, relatedness and pattern of molecular evolution. Pfceltos and Pfrh5 genes were amplified from P. falciparum positive samples. Amplified fragments were purified and sequenced using the chain termination method. Post-sequence edit of fragments and application of various population genetic analyses was done. We observed a higher number of segregating sites and haplotypes in the Pfceltos than in Pfrh5 gene, the former also presenting higher haplotype (0.942) and nucleotide diversity (θ = 0:01219 and π = 0:01148). In contrast, a lower haplotype (0.426) and nucleotide diversity (θ = 0:00125; π = 0:00095) was observed in the Pfrh5 gene. Neutrality tests do not show deviation from neutral expectations for Pfceltos, with the circulation of multiple low frequency haplotypes (Tajima's D=0.21637; Fu and Li's D=0.08164; Fu and Li's F = -0.14051). Strong linkage disequilibrium was observed between variable sites, in each of the genes studied. We postulate that the high diversity and circulation of multiple haplotypes has the potential of making a Pfceltos-subunit vaccine ineffective, while the low genetic diversity of Pfrh5 gene substantiates its evolutionary conservation and potential as a malaria vaccine candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is an annual medicinal and spice crop belonging to the family Fabaceae. The occurrence of a yellow vein disease was recorded in fenugreek in Jodhpur (India) in 2022. The infection of begomoviruses in legume crops results in significant yield loss and major economic loss. The current study reports an association of a novel begomovirus species associated with yellow vein disease in Fenugreek. Methods and results: In symptomatic fenugreek plants, geminivirus-like particles were visible under a transmission electron microscope. Further, nucleotide sequence analysis of the rolling circle amplified product revealed 2743 nucleotide DNA-A genome with close relatedness to French bean leaf curl virus (88.21%) and Senna leaf curl virus (87.63%). It was proposed as a new begomovirus species, Fenugreek yellow vein Rajasthan virus. The genome organization suggested the presence of a typical nonanucleotide sequence along with 7 ORFs in DNA-A. A possible recombination event took place in the coat protein (V1) region with Pedilanthus leaf curl virus and Chilli leaf curl virus as major and minor parents. The recombinant virus poses possible threats to several other legume crops. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the association of FeYVRaV with fenugreek yellow vein disease from northwestern India. Conclusions: In conclusion, the presence of a novel begomovirus species associated with yellow vein disease in fenugreek is alarming and needs further studies on its infectivity to prevent its spread to legume crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria remains a global public health challenge. The disease has a great impact in sub-Saharan Africa among children under five years of age and pregnant women. Malaria control programs targeting the parasite and mosquitoes vectors with combinational therapy and insecticide-treated bednets are becoming obsolete due to the phenomenon of resistance, which is a challenge for reducing morbidity and mortality. Malaria vaccines would be effective alternative to the problem of parasite and insecticide resistance, but focal reports of polymorphisms in malaria candidate antigens have made it difficult to design an effective malaria vaccine. Therefore, studies geared towards elucidating the polymorphic pattern and how genes targeted for vaccine design evolve are imperative. We have carried out molecular and genetic analysis of two genes encoding vaccine candidates—the Plasmodium falciparum cell traversal ookinetes and sporozoites (Pfceltos) and P. falciparum reticulocyte binding protein 5 (Pfrh5) in parasite isolates from malaria-infected children in Ibadan, Nigeria to evaluate their genetic diversity, relatedness and pattern of molecular evolution. Pfceltos and Pfrh5 genes were amplified from P. falciparum positive samples. Amplified fragments were purified and sequenced using the chain termination method. Post-sequence edit of fragments and application of various population genetic analyses was done. We observed a higher number of segregating sites and haplotypes in the Pfceltos than in Pfrh5 gene, the former also presenting higher haplotype (0.942) and nucleotide diversity (θ = 0.01219 and π = 0.01148). In contrast, a lower haplotype (0.426) and nucleotide diversity (θ = 0.00125; π = 0.00095) was observed in the Pfrh5 gene. Neutrality tests do not show deviation from neutral expectations for Pfceltos, with the circulation of multiple low frequency haplotypes (Tajima’s D = −0.21637; Fu and Li’s D = −0.08164; Fu and Li’s F = −0.14051). Strong linkage disequilibrium was observed between variable sites, in each of the genes studied. We postulate that the high diversity and circulation of multiple haplotypes has the potential of making a Pfceltos-subunit vaccine ineffective, while the low genetic diversity of Pfrh5 gene substantiates its evolutionary conservation and potential as a malaria vaccine candidate.

Aim: The ability of predicting which naturalized non‐native species are likely to become invasive can help manage and prevent species invasions. The goal of this study is to test whether invasive angiosperm (flowering plant) species are a phylogenetically clustered subset of naturalized species at global, continental and regional scales, and to assess the relationships of phylogenetic relatedness of invasive species with climate condition (temperature and precipitation). Location: Global. Time period: Current. Taxon: Angiosperms (flowering plants). Methods: The globe is divided into 290 regions, which are grouped into seven biogeographic (continental) regions. Two phylogenetic metrics (net relatedness index and nearest taxon index), which represent different evolutionary depths, are used to quantify phylogenetic relatedness of invasive angiosperms, with respect to different tailor‐made species pools. Phylogenetic relatedness of invasive angiosperms is related to climatic variables. Results: The global assemblage of invasive angiosperm species is a strongly phylogenetically clustered subset of the species of the entire global angiosperm flora. Most invasive angiosperm assemblages are a phylogenetically clustered subset of their respective naturalized species pools, and phylogenetic clustering reflecting shallow evolutionary history is greater than that reflecting deep evolutionary history. In general, the phylogenetic relatedness of invasive species is greater in regions with lower temperature and precipitation across the world. Main conclusions: The finding that invasive angiosperm assemblages across the globe are, in general, phylogenetically clustered subsets of their respective naturalized species pools has significant implications in biological conservation, particularly in predicting and controlling invasive species based on phylogenetic relatedness among naturalized species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Knowledge of relationships between phylogenetic structure of a biological assemblage and ecological factors that drive the variation of phylogenetic structure among regions is crucial for understanding the causes of variation in taxonomic composition and richness among regions, but this knowledge is lacking for the global flora of ferns. Here, we fill this critical knowledge gap.We divided the globe into 392 geographic units on land, collated species lists of ferns for each geographic unit, and used different phylogenetic metrics (tip‐ vs basal‐weighted) reflecting different evolutionary depths to quantify phylogenetic structure. We then related taxonomic and phylogenetic structure metrics to six climatic variables for ferns as a whole and for two groups of ferns (old clades vs polypods) reflecting different evolutionary histories across the globe and within each continental region.We found that when old clades and polypods were considered separately, temperature‐related variables explained more variation in these metrics than did precipitation‐related variables in both groups. When analyses were conducted for continental regions separately, this pattern holds in most cases.Climate extremes have a stronger relationship with phylogenetic structure of ferns than does climate seasonality. Climatic variables explained more variation in phylogenetic structure at deeper evolutionary depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the causes and consequences of biological invasions is a great challenge in ecology and conservation biology. The ability to predict which naturalized species are likely to become invasive would be a great step forward in managing and preventing invasions. The goal of this study is to test whether invasive species are a phylogenetically clustered subset of naturalized species at continental and regional scales, and to compare phylogenetic relatedness of invasive angiosperms with respect to species pools of non-native naturalized angiosperms in North America. We divided North America into 65 state- or province-level regions, and collated naturalized and invasive species lists of angiosperms for each region. Two phylogenetic metrics (net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI)), which represent different evolutionary depths, were used to quantify phylogenetic relatedness of naturalized and invasive angiosperms in North America, with respect to different species pools. We related phylogenetic relatedness of invasive angiosperms to climatic variables. We found that most invasive angiosperm assemblages are a phylogenetically clustered subset of their respective naturalized species pools, and the phylogenetic clustering of invasive species is greater in regions with lower temperature and precipitation. The pattern of phylogenetic clustering of invasive species likely reflects phylogenetic conservatism of traits associated with invasiveness. It may also reflect a tendency towards greater invasiveness for species with novel trait combinations compared to the non-invasive naturalized species assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Secondary invasions in which nontarget invaders expand following eradication of a target invader commonly occur in habitats with multiple invasive plant species and can prevent recovery of native communities. However, the dynamics and mechanisms of secondary invasion remain unclear.Here, we conducted a common garden experiment to test underlying mechanisms of secondary invasion for 14 nontarget invaders after biological control of Ambrosia artemisiifolia in two consecutive years.We found secondary invasion for all tested nontarget invaders, but secondary invasiveness (change relative to natives) varied with species and time. Specifically, secondary invasiveness depended most strongly on phylogenetic relatedness between the target and nontarget invaders in the first year with closely related nontarget invaders being most invasive. By contrast, secondary invasiveness in the second year was mostly driven by functional traits with taller nontarget invaders or those with higher specific leaf area, or smaller seeds especially invasive.Our study indicates that secondary invasion is likely to occur wherever other invasive plants co‐occur with an invasive species targeted for control. Furthermore, the most problematic invaders will initially be species closely related to the target invader but then species with rapid growth and high reproduction are most likely to be more aggressive secondary invaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi enhance the uptake of water and minerals by the plant hosts, alleviating plant stress. Therefore, AM fungal–plant interactions are particularly important in drylands and other stressful ecosystems. We aimed to determine the combined and independent effects of above- and below-ground plant community attributes (i.e. diversity and composition), soil heterogeneity and spatial covariates on the spatial structure of the AM fungal communities in a semiarid Mediterranean scrubland. Furthermore, we evaluated how the phylogenetic relatedness of both plants and AM fungi shapes these symbiotic relationships. Methods We characterized the composition and diversity of AM fungal and plant communities in a dry Mediterranean scrubland taxonomically and phylogenetically, using DNA metabarcoding and a spatially explicit sampling design at the plant neighbourhood scale. Key Results The above- and below-ground plant community attributes, soil physicochemical properties and spatial variables explained unique fractions of AM fungal diversity and composition. Mainly, variations in plant composition affected the AM fungal composition and diversity. Our results also showed that particular AM fungal taxa tended to be associated with closely related plant species, suggesting the existence of a phylogenetic signal. Although soil texture, fertility and pH affected AM fungal community assembly, spatial factors had a greater influence on AM fungal community composition and diversity than soil physicochemical properties. Conclusions Our results highlight that the more easily accessible above-ground vegetation is a reliable indicator of the linkages between plant roots and AM fungi. We also emphasize the importance of soil physicochemical properties in addition to below-ground plant information, while accounting for the phylogenetic relationships of both plants and fungi, because these factors improve our ability to predict the relationships between AM fungal and plant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Patterns of evolutionary relatedness among co‐occurring species are driven by scale‐dependent contemporary and historical processes. Yet, we still lack a detailed understanding of how these drivers impact the phylogenetic structure of biological communities. Here, we focused on bats (one of the most species‐rich and vagile groups of mammals) and tested the predictions of three general biogeographical hypotheses that are particularly relevant to understanding how palaeoclimatic stability, local diversification rates and geographical scales shaped their present‐day phylogenetic community structure. Location: World‐wide, across restrictive geographical extents: global, east–west hemispheres, biogeographical realms, tectonic plates, biomes and ecoregions. Time period: Last Glacial Maximum (~22,000 years ago) to the present. Major taxa studied: Bats (Chiroptera). Methods: We estimated bat phylogenetic community structure across restrictive geographical extents and modelled it as a function of palaeoclimatic stability and in situ net diversification rates. Results: Limiting geographical extents from larger to smaller scales greatly changed the phylogenetic structure of bat communities. The magnitude of these effects is less noticeable in the western hemisphere, where frequent among‐realm biota interchange could have been maintained through the adaptive traits of bats. Bat communities with high phylogenetic relatedness are generally more common in regions that have changed less in climate since the Last Glacial Maximum, supporting the expectation that stable climates allow for increased phylogenetic clustering. Finally, increased in situ net diversification rates are associated with greater phylogenetic clustering in bat communities. Main conclusions: We show that the world‐wide phylogenetic structure of bat assemblages varies as a function of geographical extents, dispersal barriers, palaeoclimatic stability and in situ diversification. The integrative framework used in our study, which can be applied to other taxonomic groups, has not only proved useful to explain the evolutionary dynamics of community assembly, but could also help to tackle questions related to scale dependence in community ecology and biogeography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Termites are key decomposers of dead plant material involved in the organic matter recycling process in warm terrestrial ecosystems. Due to their prominent role as urban pests of timber, research efforts have been directed toward biocontrol strategies aimed to use pathogens in their nest. However, one of the most fascinating aspects of termites is their defense strategies that prevent the growth of detrimental microbiological strains in their nests. One of the controlling factors is the nest allied microbiome. Understanding how allied microbial strains protect termites from pathogen load could provide us with an enhanced repertoire for fighting antimicrobial-resistant strains ormining for genes for bioremediation purposes. However, a necessary first step is to characterize these microbial communities. To gain a deeper understanding of the termite nest microbiome, we used amulti-omics approach for dissecting the nestmicrobiome in a wide range of termite species. These cover several feeding habits and three geographical locations on two tropical sides of the Atlantic Ocean known to host hyper-diverse communities. Our experimental approach included untargeted volatile metabolomics, targeted evaluation of volatile naphthalene, a taxonomical profile for bacteria and fungi through amplicon sequencing, and further diving into the genetic repertoire through a metagenomic sequencing approach. Naphthalene was present in species belonging to the genera Nasutitermes and Cubitermes. We investigated the apparent differences in terms of bacterial community structure and discovered that feeding habits and phylogenetic relatedness had a greater influence than geographical location. The phylogenetic relatedness among nests' hosts influences primarily bacterial communities, while diet influences fungi. Finally, our metagenomic analysis revealed that the gene content provided both soil-feeding genera with similar functional profiles, while the wood-feeding genus showed a different one. Our results indicate that the nest functional profile is largely influenced by diet and phylogenetic relatedness, irrespective of geographical location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil biota, as legacy effects of previous species in natural ecosystems, profoundly affects plant performance in new habitats and, in turn, plant community. However, how soil biota, as legacy effects of agricultural crops, affects the likelihood of establishment of exotic and native plants in newly abandoned farmland remains poorly understood, which may hinder effective management of agricultural weeds. Here, we grew 58 plant species (28 exotic species and 30 native species) common in Central China in sterilized vs. nonsterilized soils collected from a newly abandoned maize field. We (i) estimated the effects of soil biota on plant shoot, root and total mass, (ii) explored the dependence of soil effects on the plants' phylogenetic distance to maize, origin (native vs. exotic) and life history (annual vs. perennial) and (iii) tested which plant traits could predict soil effects. Soil biota, in general, decreased plant mass, suggesting a dominant role of enemies. The effect of the soil biota on plant total mass was unrelated to the phylogenetic distance of the plants to maize and decreased linearly with increasing plant intrinsic growth ability. Moreover, the soil biota on average had greater negative impacts on the total mass of exotic plants, particularly perennial species, than on that of native plants. Our results suggest that plant intrinsic growth ability, rather than phylogenetic relatedness, is a reliable predictor of soil effects. Additionally, native plants can benefit from plant–soil interactions in competing with exotic perennial plants when initially established in newly abandoned farmlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pest herbivory regulation is one of the key functions provided by diverse ecosystems, especially when compared to species depauperate agro-ecosystems and in the context of increased pest outbreaks due to global change. The dilution effect of host diversity on insect herbivory suggests that mixed plantations are feasible for regulating pest herbivory in agroecosystems. Dilution effect of increased plant diversity on insect herbivory has been widely observed, yet little is known about how it may change with plant phylogenetic relatedness and herbivore specialization, especially at the community level. Here, we compared herbivore richness, abundance, and degree of herbivory (i.e., the ratio of trees damaged by pest and total trees in a given area) among the two monocultures and the four mixed plantations in Wenchang city, Hainan Province, China. We also respectively assessed the effects of phylogenetically close or distant species on generalist and specialist herbivores in monocultures and mixture. We found that increasing the number of phylogenetically closely-related tree species could dilute generalist herbivore richness, abundance, and degree of herbivory but amplify specialist herbivore richness, abundance, and degree of herbivory. In contrast, increasing the number of phylogenetically distant tree species increased generalist herbivore richness, abundance, and degree of herbivory, while reducing specialist herbivore richness, abundance, and degree of herbivory. Our results suggest that plant phylogenetic relatedness and herbivore specialization can indeed interact to influence pest control efficiency when using mixed plantations to manage pest herbivory in agroecosystems. Thus, both herbivore specialization and plant phylogenetic relatedness should be taken into account in the management of agro-ecosystems and biodiversity conservation with respect to herbivory.

Termites are key decomposers of dead plant material involved in the organic matter recycling process in warm terrestrial ecosystems. Due to their prominent role as urban pests of timber, research efforts have been directed toward biocontrol strategies aimed to use pathogens in their nest. However, one of the most fascinating aspects of termites is their defense strategies that prevent the growth of detrimental microbiological strains in their nests. One of the controlling factors is the nest allied microbiome. Understanding how allied microbial strains protect termites from pathogen load could provide us with an enhanced repertoire for fighting antimicrobial-resistant strains or mining for genes for bioremediation purposes. However, a necessary first step is to characterize these microbial communities. To gain a deeper understanding of the termite nest microbiome, we used a multi-omics approach for dissecting the nest microbiome in a wide range of termite species. These cover several feeding habits and three geographical locations on two tropical sides of the Atlantic Ocean known to host hyper-diverse communities. Our experimental approach included untargeted volatile metabolomics, targeted evaluation of volatile naphthalene, a taxonomical profile for bacteria and fungi through amplicon sequencing, and further diving into the genetic repertoire through a metagenomic sequencing approach. Naphthalene was present in species belonging to the genera Nasutitermes and Cubitermes. We investigated the apparent differences in terms of bacterial community structure and discovered that feeding habits and phylogenetic relatedness had a greater influence than geographical location. The phylogenetic relatedness among nests' hosts influences primarily bacterial communities, while diet influences fungi. Finally, our metagenomic analysis revealed that the gene content provided both soil-feeding genera with similar functional profiles, while the wood-feeding genus showed a different one. Our results indicate that the nest functional profile is largely influenced by diet and phylogenetic relatedness, irrespective of geographical location.

Changes in the amount and timing of precipitation may affect plant species coexistence. However, little is known about how these changes in precipitation structure plant communities. Here, we conducted a 6-year field precipitation manipulation experiment in the semi-arid steppe of Inner Mongolia, China, to assess the importance of species extinction and colonization in community assembly by incorporating information on phylogenetic and functional relatedness. Our results demonstrated that the decline in plant species richness under decreasing precipitation in the late and entire growing season could be attributed to a decrease in species colonization and an increase in species loss, respectively. The increase in species richness under increasing precipitation in the late growing season was mainly caused by increases in colonizing species. The loss of species that were more closely related to other residents under decreasing precipitation in the late growing season did not alter patterns of phylogenetic overdispersion, and the colonization of species that were more distantly related to residents under increasing precipitation in the late growing season shifted functional relatedness from clustering to randomness. Increasing precipitation may weaken the strength of environmental filtering induced by water stress in this semi-arid steppe and thus increase the probability of successful colonization of functionally dissimilar species relative to residents. Our study suggests that incorporating information on the functional and phylogenetic relatedness of locally lost resident species and the colonization of new species into analyses of community assembly processes can provide new insights into the general responses of plant communities to global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants affect associated biotic and abiotic edaphic factors, with reciprocal feedbacks from soil characteristics affecting plants. These two‐way interactions between plants and soils are collectively known as plant–soil feedbacks (PSFs). The role of phylogenetic relatedness and evolutionary histories have recently emerged as a potential driver of PSFs, although the strength and direction of feedbacks among sympatric congeners are not well‐understood. We examined plant–soil feedback responses of Asclepias syriaca, a common clonal milkweed species, with several sympatric congeners across a gradient of increasing phylogenetic distances (A. tuberosa, A. viridis, A. sullivantii, and A. verticillata, respectively). Plant–soil feedbacks were measured through productivity and colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Asclepias syriaca produced less biomass in soils conditioned by the most phylogenetically distant species (A. verticillata), relative to conspecific‐conditioned soils. Similarly, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonization of A. syriaca roots was reduced when grown in soils conditioned by A. verticillata, compared with colonization in plants grown in soil conditioned by any of the other three Asclepias species, indicating mycorrhizal associations are a potential mechanism of observed positive PSFs. This display of differences between the most phylogenetically distant, but not close or intermediate, paring(s) suggests a potential phylogenetic threshold, although other exogenous factors cannot be ruled out. Overall, these results highlight the potential role of phylogenetic distance in influencing positive PSFs through mutualists. The role of phylogenetic relatedness and evolutionary histories have recently emerged as a potential driver of plant–soil feedbacks (PSFs), although the strength and direction of feedbacks among sympatric congeners are not well‐understood. Congeneric, sympatric milkweeds typically generated positive PSFs in terms of productivity and AM fungal colonization, suggesting the low likelihood of coexistence among tested pairs, with a strength of feedback increasing as the phylogenetic distance increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many biodiversity hotspots are located in montane regions, thus, understanding the underlying mechanisms driving species assembly along elevational gradients is of major interest in ecology and biogeography. Here, we assess spatial patterns and climatic drivers, and the effects of clade age, on patterns of phylogenetic structure of ferns along the world's longest elevational gradient in the central Himalaya. We used correlation and regression analyses to relate metrics of phylogenetic structure reflecting both shallow (tip‐weighted) and deep (basal‐weighted) evolutionary histories of ferns, and their two major groups reflecting different ages (polypods representing a young clade, all other ferns representing old clades), in fifty 100‐m vertical bands to climatic factors representing different aspects of climatic conditions (mean climate, stressful climate and climate seasonality). Variation partitioning analysis was used to determine the relative importance of each group of climatic factors on phylogenetic structure. We find that the composition of fern assemblages along the Himalayan elevational gradient in Nepal shows strong signatures of evolutionary processes. In a simplified way, species‐rich assemblages at mid‐elevations are likely the result of recent radiations in combination with low extinction rates, whereas species‐poor assemblages at low elevations are composed of numerous lineages with limited radiations, and those at high elevations of few lineages, also with limited signature of recent radiations. Variables related to temperature and climatic extremes tended to play a more important role than precipitation‐ and seasonality‐related variables, respectively, in driving fern phylogenetic structure. Combining the results of ferns and angiosperms suggests that there are a few generally consistent evolutionary processes that apply to all plant groups (e.g. niche conservatism and environmental filtering), but that the specific outcomes of these processes vary with elevation, clade age and taxon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life cycles of bark beetles are intimately linked to their host species. Therefore, bark beetle species are expected to show traits that vary among host species and across geographic ranges. The taxonomic proximity of host tree species can also influence host selection. Abies species (Pinaceae) native to Japan are genetically classified into three phylogenetic groups. Their natural distributions are separated by a distinct biogeographic boundary in Japan (i.e., the Tsugaru Strait, also referred to as Blakiston's Line). Therefore, I investigated the host preference of Polygraphus proximus Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) within four allopatrically distributed Abies species across north and south of the Tsugaru Strait through field surveys and field choice experiments. Abies sachalinensis (F. Schmidt) Mast. is the only species native to Hokkaido, north of the Tsugaru Strait. Field observations and field host‐choice bioassays showed that A. sachalinensis was less severely attacked by P. proximus than was Abies veitchii Lindl. on both sides of the Tsugaru Strait. The beetles also preferred to attack Abies firma Siebold & Zucc. – which belongs to a genetically distinct group (i.e., section Momi) from that of A. veitchii and A. sachalinensis (i.e., section Balsamea) – over A. sachalinensis in both Hokkaido and Honshu. Although Abies homolepis Siebold & Zucc. also belongs to the section Momi, A. firma and A. veitchii had more attacks than A. homolepis. The results provide evidence that P. proximus does not show specialization across the various parts of their geographic range where the host species are different, and there is no positive correlation between taxonomic proximity and host preference for P. proximus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive sandburs (Cenchrus spp.), tropical and subtropical plants, are preferred in grasslands and agricultural ecosystems worldwide, causing significant crop production losses and reducing native biodiversity. Integrating phylogenetic relatedness and potentially suitable habitats (PSHs) to identify areas at risk of invasion is critical for prioritizing management efforts and supporting decisions on early warning and surveillance for sandbur invasions. However, despite risk assessments for individual Cenchrus species, the combined analysis of suitable habitats and phylogenetic relationships remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to assess the invasion risk regions-including PSHs, species richness (SR), and phylogenetic structure-of eight invasive and potentially invasive sandburs in China, to quantify their niche overlap and identify driving factors. Our results showed that the phylogenetic distance of potentially invasive sandburs was closely related to invasive sandburs. Especially, three potentially invasive sandburs, C. ciliaris, C. setigerus, and C. myosuroides, possessed invasion potential resulting from close phylogenetic relatedness and high climatic suitability compared with invasive sandburs. The PSHs for invasive sandburs were distributed in wider regions except northwest China and had higher suitability to different environmental conditions. Potentially invasive sandburs were primarily located in southwestern and southern China driven by precipitation, especially, being inspected in Guangdong, Hainan, and Yunnan on numerous occasions, or potentially introduced in Guangxi, Taiwan, and Fujian for sandburs invasion hotspots. The phylogenetic clustering for eight sandburs occurred in the eastern, center, and southern coastal China, where higher SR in distribution was correlated with invasion hotspots. The SR and phylogenetic relatedness metrics were related to temperature and topographic variables. Totally, the expansion and invasion risk could be increased toward higher latitudes under future global warming. These findings offer novel insights for the prevention and management of sandburs invasions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Abstract Biotic and abiotic factors interact with dominant plants—the locally most frequent or with the largest coverage—and nondominant plants differently, partially because dominant plants modify the environment where nondominant plants grow. For instance, if dominant plants compete strongly, they will deplete most resources, forcing nondominant plants into a narrower niche space. Conversely, if dominant plants are constrained by the environment, they might not exhaust available resources but instead may ameliorate environmental stressors that usually limit nondominants. Hence, the nature of interactions among nondominant species could be modified by dominant species. Furthermore, these differences could translate into a disparity in the phylogenetic relatedness among dominants compared to the relatedness among nondominants. By estimating phylogenetic dispersion in 78 grasslands across five continents, we found that dominant species were clustered (e.g., co‐dominant grasses), suggesting dominant species are likely organized by environmental filtering, and that nondominant species were either randomly assembled or overdispersed. Traits showed similar trends for those sites (

Aim: We test (1) whether invasive angiosperm (flowering plant) species are a phylogenetically clustered subset of all naturalized angiosperm species within an angiosperm assemblage, (2) whether more harmful invasive species are more strongly, or less strongly, related to each other, (3) whether the result of the first test is consistent with those for geographic regions distributed in substantially different climatic conditions, and (4) whether patterns of phylogenetic relatedness for invasive species in regions across climatic gradients are consistent with those for overall naturalized species. Location: China. Time period: Current. Taxon: Angiosperms (flowering plants). Methods: We recognized 28 province‐level regions in China and collated naturalized and invasive species lists of angiosperms for each region. Two phylogenetic metrics (i.e., net relatedness index and nearest taxon index), which represent different depths of evolutionary history, were used to quantify phylogenetic relatedness of angiosperms in China and in each region. Values of the metrics of phylogenetic relatedness were related to temperature and precipitation. Results: At the national scale, invasive assemblage is a phylogenetically clustered subset of the naturalized species pool. More harmful invasive species are more strongly clustered. At the regional scale, both naturalized and invasive species are phylogenetically clustered subsets of the national naturalized species pool. Furthermore, invasive species in regional floras are also phylogenetically clustered subsets of their respective regional naturalized species pools. Main conclusions Invasive angiosperm species are a phylogenetically clustered subset of naturalized angiosperm species. More harmful invasive species are more strongly clustered with respect to their naturalized species pools, compared to less harmful invasive species. Our findings have significant implications to predicting and controlling invasive species based on phylogenetic relatedness among naturalized species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen, is a leading cause of chronic infection of airways in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Chronic infections typically arise from colonization by environmental strains, followed by adaptation of P. aeruginosa to the conditions within the CF airway. It has been suggested that oxygen availability can be an important source of selection causing trait changes associated with the transition to chronic infection, but little data exist on the response of P. aeruginosa to varying levels of oxygen. Here, we use a diverse collection of P. aeruginosa strains recovered from both CF patients and environmental sources to evaluate the role of oxygen availability in driving adaptation to the CF lung while also accounting for phylogenetic relatedness. While we can detect a signal of phylogeny in trait responses to oxygen availability, niche of origin is a far stronger predictor. Specifically, strains isolated from the lungs of CF patients are more sensitive to external oxidative stress but more resistant to antibiotics under anoxic conditions. Additionally, many, though not all, patho-adaptive traits we assayed are insensitive to oxygen availability. Our results suggest that inferences about trait expression, especially those associated with the transition to chronic infection, depend on both the available oxygen and niche of origin of the strains being studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenies are essential to studies investigating the effect of evolutionary history on assembly of species in ecological communities and geographical and ecological patterns of phylogenetic structure of species assemblages. Because phylogenies well resolved at the species level are lacking for many major groups of organisms such as vascular plants, researchers often generate a species-level phylogenies using a phylogeny well resolved at the genus level as a backbone and attaching species to their respective genera in the phylogeny as polytomies or by using a megaphylogeny well resolved at the genus level as a backbone and adding additional species to the megaphylogeny as polytomies of their respective genera. However, whether the result of a study using species-level phylogenies generated in these ways is robust, compared to that based on phylogenies fully resolved at the species level, has not been assessed. Here, we use 1093 angiosperm tree assemblages (each in a 110 × 110 km quadrat) in North America as a model system to address this question, by examining six commonly used metrics of phylogenetic structure (phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness) and six climate variables commonly used in ecology. Our results showed that (1) the scores of phylogenetic metrics derived from species-level phylogenies resolved at the genus level with species being attached to their respective genera as polytomies are very strongly or perfectly correlated to those derived from a phylogeny fully resolved at the species level (the mean of correlation coefficients is 0.973), and (2) the relationships between the scores of phylogenetic metrics and climate variables are consistent between the two sets of analyses based on the two types of phylogeny. Our study suggests that using species-level phylogenies resolved at the genus level with species being attached to their genera as polytomies is appropriate in studies exploring patterns of phylogenetic structure of species in ecological communities across geographical and ecological gradients.

Abstract Little attention has been paid to phylogenetic diversity during restoration initiatives. Because plant phylogenetic distance can be a surrogate for functional diversity, its consideration could foster the restoration of degraded areas. This study investigates the influence of species richness and phylogenetic relatedness during early restoration of a riparian forest located between the Atlantic Forest and semi‐arid ecosystems in NE Brazil. The restoration experiment was established along a perennial stream in Monte Alegre, RN, investigating the significance of species richness and phylogenetic diversity for sapling survival and growth of the restored communities. We used phylogenetic information on 47 tree species naturally occurring at the study site. The resulting phylogenetic tree had a basal node with three major clades. To implement the experiment, three species from each clade were randomly selected, resulting in nine species (from five families). We defined five levels of diversity: (i) no planting, (ii) monoculture, (iii) three phylogenetically related species (same clade), (iv) three phylogenetically distant species (different clades) and (v) nine species. The experiment consisted of 96 (12 m × 10 m) plots established along the two margins of the stream. Overall, 1656 saplings (20–50 cm) were planted in September 2015 (184 per species). We tested whether the survival and growth of saplings are influenced by the number of species planted and phylogenetic distance among them. We assessed plant mortality and growth during two consecutive years (2016 and 2017). Survival was lower but relative growth was higher for plants near the stream. After controlling for differences in initial size, plots with phylogenetically distant species produced significantly taller plants, but only when occurring near the stream. Diversity treatments did not influence plant survival, while initial size determined plant survival and growth. Our findings show that greater phylogenetic distance led to increased plant growth, probably, because of the presence of functionally divergent species that use resources in a complementary way. Therefore, plant phylogenetic relatedness should be considered during the design of restored communities to improve the outcomes of future restoration initiatives.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen, is a leading cause of chronic infection of airways in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Chronic infections typically arise from colonization by environmental strains, followed by adaptation of P. aeruginosa to the conditions within the CF airway. It has been suggested that oxygen availability can be an important source of selection causing trait changes associated with the transition to chronic infection, but little data exist on the response of P. aeruginosa to varying levels of oxygen. Here, we use a diverse collection of P. aeruginosa strains recovered from both CF patients and environmental sources to evaluate the role of oxygen availability in driving adaptation to the CF lung while also accounting for phylogenetic relatedness. While we can detect a signal of phylogeny in trait responses to oxygen availability, niche of origin is a far stronger predictor. Specifically, strains isolated from the lungs of CF patients are more sensitive to external oxidative stress but more resistant to antibiotics under anoxic conditions. Additionally, many, though not all, patho-adaptive traits we assayed are insensitive to oxygen availability. Our results suggest that inferences about trait expression, especially those associated with the transition to chronic infection, depend on both the available oxygen and niche of origin of the strains being studied.

Species that arrive first influence community assembly. This "priority effect" has been extensively applied in ecological restoration through the removal of invasive plants and subsequent introduction of native species, assuming that recolonization by invaders will be hindered by introduced natives. Nonetheless, often the target community is very prone to reinvasion, which might be partially due to poor early growth of natives. This study examines this phenomenon and potential underlying mechanisms in a woodland restoration area in southwestern Australia, considering both, the response and effect of sown native species in relation to a nonnative community re-emerging relatively late due to its initial removal. We aimed to elucidate the effects of a range of factors including phylogenetic relatedness of the seed mixes to annual grasses on nonnative community, seed mass, soil moisture and other soil variables linked to it. We sowed three natives seed mixes in an old field following removal of the nonnative annual grass community broadly dominated by annual grasses. We examined the direction and intensity of the interaction between these and the nonnative community. The seed mixes included (1) monocultures of the native grass Rytidosperma caespitosa , (2) monocultures of six woody species and (3) cultures mixing the native grass with each woody species. Overall, nonnative species dominated by annual grasses emerging late did not affect woody natives but suppressed native grass Rytidosperma , both as a monoculture and mixed with woody species. When growing alongside late nonnatives, the survival of woody natives was favored by woody species seed mass and soil moisture, while the depth of the sandy layer on the soil surface limited the response of Rytidosperma. These results suggest that phylogenetic distance or relatedness might be key to optimizing priority response and effects when restoring ecosystems. The other variables found to enhance native species' competitive abilities (seed mass, seeding density of Rytidosperma and possibly soil moisture) indicate the importance of considering a variety of factors to optimize restoration based on priority effects. • Nonnative grasses affect a native grass appearing earlier. • But this nonnative grass community does not affect early woody species. • The native grass inhibits late nonnatives grasses only at relatively high soil moisture. • Also, seeding density of the native grass inhibits late nonnative grasses. • Response of woody species to late nonnatives is enhanced by soil moisture and seed mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P. ovale was until recently thought to be a single unique species. However, the deployment of more sensitive tools has led to increased diagnostic sensitivity, including new evidence supporting the presence of two sympatric species: P. ovale curtisi (Poc) and P. ovale wallikeri (Pow). The increased reports and evolution of P. ovale subspecies are concerning for sub-Saharan Africa where the greatest burden of malaria is borne. Employing published sequence data, we set out to decipher the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness of P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri using the tryptophan-rich protein and small subunit ribosomal RNA genes from Gabon, Senegal, Ethiopia and Kenya. Higher number of segregating sites were recorded in Poc isolates from Gabon than from Ethiopia, with a similar trend in the number of haplotypes. With regards to Pow, the number of segregating sites and haplotypes from Ethiopia were higher than from those in Gabon. Poc from Kenya, had higher segregating sites (20), and haplotypes (4) than isolates from Senegal (8 and 3 respectively), while nucleotide from Senegal were more diverse (θw = 0.02159; π = 0.02159) than those from Kenya (θw = 0.01452; π = 0.01583). Phylogenetic tree construction reveal two large clades with Poc from Gabon and Ethiopia, and distinct Gabonese and Ethiopian clades on opposite ends. A similar observation was recorded for the phylogeny of Poc isolates from Kenya and Senegal. With such results, there is a high potential that ovale malaria control measures deployed in one country may be effective in the other since parasite from both countries show some degree of relatedness. How this translates to malaria control efforts throughout the continent would be next step deserving more studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The emerging intestinal pathogen Campylobacter concisus has been associated with prolonged diarrhoea and classic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and was recently also linked with microscopic colitis (MC). Previous reports have observed a high genetic diversity within isolates from diarrhoeic and IBD patients and from healthy controls (HC), and division of isolates into two major genomospecies (GS1 and GS2). The aim of this study was to describe genetic diversity in 80 recently cultivated MC biopsy and faecal isolates of C. concisus by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST); and to compare the phylogenetic relatedness to 102 isolates from diarrhoeic and IBD patients and HCs by k-mer-based distance estimation. MLST revealed high genetic diversity in MC isolates with 72 novel sequence types. K-mer divided MC isolates into two distinct clusters (cluster 1 n = 21, cluster 2 n = 49), with a significantly higher prevalence of cluster 2 isolates in biopsies than in faeces, p = 0.009. K-mer divided the 182 isolates into two major phylogenetic clusters: cluster 1 (GS1 isolates) and cluster 2 (GS2 isolates), which further differentiated into three subgroups. Cluster 1 and the three cluster 2 subgroups were each distinctive in mean genome size and GC count. Isolates from all disease phenotypes were present in cluster 1 and cluster 2 subgroup 2 and 3, whereas cluster 2 subgroup 1 only contained isolates restricted to patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 10) and HC (n = 4).

Aim: Phylogenetic relatedness among species can provide useful information on the diversification history and past dispersal events that may have shaped contemporary assemblages. Here, using of the most comprehensive fish occurrence database currently available and a global molecular phylogeny of ray‐finned fishes, we evaluate the respective roles of historical and contemporary processes in generating and maintaining fish assemblage phylodiversity patterns among 97 sub‐drainages covering the Amazon River basin. Location: Amazon River basin. Taxon: Freshwater fishes. Methods: Using a large comprehensive database of freshwater fish species distributions, and a global molecular phylogeny of ray‐finned (actinopterygian) fishes, we estimated historical and contemporary environmental effects on sub‐drainage fish phylodiversity patterns using three phylogenetic metrics standardized for richness effect: Phylogenetic Diversity (ses.PD), Mean pairwise Phylogenetic Distance between species capturing patterns at older evolutionary timescales (ses.MPD), and Mean Nearest Taxon Distance capturing patterns at younger evolutionary timescales (ses.MNTD). Results: We found significant effects of elevation gradients, contemporary climate, and water types on assemblage phylodiversity patterns. Furthermore, we found significant relationships among the three phylogenetic metrics used, and between these metrics and the distance of sub‐drainages to the Amazon River mouth, representing the Amazon basin West‐East longitudinal gradient. Main conclusions: Phylogenetic diversity showed a highly non‐random spatial distribution across the Amazon basin. Beyond significant regional effects of several contemporary and historical drivers, there was a significant West‐East decline in sub‐drainage assemblages phylogenetic clustering, along with an increase in phylogenetic diversity. These latter patterns suggest deeper evolutionary divergences among taxa located to the East, and more recent radiations in the Western sub‐drainages. Based on these findings and given that assemblages are, on average more species‐rich in sub‐basins of the Western part of the basin than in their Eastern relatives, we conclude that Western Amazon can be seen as an evolutionary "cradle" of biodiversity for freshwater fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotic and abiotic factors interact with dominant plants—the locally most frequent or with the largest coverage—and nondominant plants differently, partially because dominant plants modify the environment where nondominant plants grow. For instance, if dominant plants compete strongly, they will deplete most resources, forcing nondominant plants into a narrower niche space. Conversely, if dominant plants are constrained by the environment, they might not exhaust available resources but instead may ameliorate environmental stressors that usually limit nondominants. Hence, the nature of interactions among nondominant species could be modified by dominant species. Furthermore, these differences could translate into a disparity in the phylogenetic relatedness among dominants compared to the relatedness among nondominants. By estimating phylogenetic dispersion in 78 grasslands across five continents, we found that dominant species were clustered (e.g., co‐dominant grasses), suggesting dominant species are likely organized by environmental filtering, and that nondominant species were either randomly assembled or overdispersed. Traits showed similar trends for those sites (<50%) with sufficient trait data. Furthermore, several lineages scattered in the phylogeny had more nondominant species than expected at random, suggesting that traits common in nondominants are phylogenetically conserved and have evolved multiple times. We also explored environmental drivers of the dominant/nondominant disparity. We found different assembly patterns for dominants and nondominants, consistent with asymmetries in assembly mechanisms. Among the different postulated mechanisms, our results suggest two complementary hypotheses seldom explored: (1) Nondominant species include lineages adapted to thrive in the environment generated by dominant species. (2) Even when dominant species reduce resources to nondominant ones, dominant species could have a stronger positive effect on some nondominants by ameliorating environmental stressors affecting them, than by depleting resources and increasing the environmental stress to those nondominants. These results show that the dominant/nondominant asymmetry has ecological and evolutionary consequences fundamental to understand plant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although campylobacteriosis is a zoonotic foodborne illness, high-risk isolates from animal sources are rarely characterized, and the pathogenic potential of zoonotic strains remains an obstacle to effective intervention against human infection. HS19 has been acknowledged as a maker serotype represented by Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) isolates from patients with post-infection Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which is circulation in developed countries. However, a previous serotype epidemiological study of C. jejuni isolates in an animal population revealed that HS19 was also prevalent in isolates from cattle in China. In this study, to investigate the hazardous potential of zoonotic strains, 14 HS19 isolates from cattle were systematically characterized both by genotype and phenotype. The results showed that all of these cattle isolates belonged to the ST-22 complex, a high-risk lineage represented by 77.2% HS19 clinical isolates from patients worldwide in the PubMLST database, indicating that the ST-22 complex is the prominent clonal complex of HS19 isolates, as well as the possibility of clonal spread of HS19 isolates across different regions and hosts. Nevertheless, these cattle strains clustered closely with the HS19 isolates from patients, suggesting a remarkable phylogenetic relatedness and genomic similarity. Importantly, both tetracycline genes tet(O) and gyrA (T86I) reached a higher proportional representation among the cattle isolates than among the human clinical isolates. A worrying level of multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in all the cattle isolates, and two MDR profiles of the cattle isolates also existed in human clinical isolates. Notably, although shared with the same serotype HS19 and sequence type ST-22, 35.7% of cattle isolates induced severe gastrointestinal pathology in the IL-10–/– C57BL/6 mice model, indicating that some bacteria could change due to host adaptation to induce a disease epidemic, thus the associated genetic elements deserve further investigation. In this study, HS19 isolates from cattle were first characterized by a systematic evaluation of bacterial genomics and in vitro virulence, which improved our understanding of the potential zoonotic hazard from food animal isolates with high-risk serotypes, and provided critical information for the development of targeted C. jejuni mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although campylobacteriosis is a zoonotic foodborne illness, high-risk isolates from animal sources are rarely characterized, and the pathogenic potential of zoonotic strains remains an obstacle to effective intervention against human infection. HS19 has been acknowledged as a maker serotype represented by Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) isolates from patients with post-infection Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which is circulation in developed countries. However, a previous serotype epidemiological study of C. jejuni isolates in an animal population revealed that HS19 was also prevalent in isolates from cattle in China. In this study, to investigate the hazardous potential of zoonotic strains, 14 HS19 isolates from cattle were systematically characterized both by genotype and phenotype. The results showed that all of these cattle isolates belonged to the ST-22 complex, a high-risk lineage represented by 77.2% HS19 clinical isolates from patients worldwide in the PubMLST database, indicating that the ST-22 complex is the prominent clonal complex of HS19 isolates, as well as the possibility of clonal spread of HS19 isolates across different regions and hosts. Nevertheless, these cattle strains clustered closely with the HS19 isolates from patients, suggesting a remarkable phylogenetic relatedness and genomic similarity. Importantly, both tetracycline genes tet(O) and gyrA (T86I) reached a higher proportional representation among the cattle isolates than among the human clinical isolates. A worrying level of multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in all the cattle isolates, and two MDR profiles of the cattle isolates also existed in human clinical isolates. Notably, although shared with the same serotype HS19 and sequence type ST-22, 35.7% of cattle isolates induced severe gastrointestinal pathology in the IL-10–/– C57BL/6 mice model, indicating that some bacteria could change due to host adaptation to induce a disease epidemic, thus the associated genetic elements deserve further investigation. In this study, HS19 isolates from cattle were first characterized by a systematic evaluation of bacterial genomics and in vitro virulence, which improved our understanding of the potential zoonotic hazard from food animal isolates with high-risk serotypes, and provided critical information for the development of targeted C. jejuni mitigation strategies.

Aim: Previous studies have found strikingly different geographical patterns of phylogenetic diversity of gymnosperms and angiosperms, which have been suggested to result, in part, from the greater age of the former. To assess the effects of clade age on phylogenetic structure, we assessed phylodiversity patterns of pteridophytes (lycophytes and ferns), which combine ancient and modern lineages, across China. Location: China. Time period: Present day. Taxon: Pteridophytes. Methods: We divided China into 66 regions and collated species lists of pteridophytes for each region. We then related taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, and their related metrics, to six climatic variables for pteridophytes as a whole and for different evolutionary clades. We examined the effect of spatial autocorrelation among regional floras on the results. Results: We found that when all pteridophytes or ferns were considered, the patterns resembled those of gymnosperms, presumably reflecting the effects of several ancient global mass extinctions and the relict distribution of old families. In contrast, when we considered only the modern Polypodiales radiation, which accounts for three‐quarters of current fern diversity and is about as old as the angiosperm radiation, we found a pattern similar to that of angiosperms. This pattern is consistent with the tropical niche conservatism hypothesis and suggests that both major groups of land plants have a broadly similar evolutionary trajectory, with most families originating in tropical conditions and few families adapting to cold and arid conditions. Main conclusions: Our study shows that the phylogenetic structures of more recently evolved and diversified clades of pteridophytes are fairly consistent with the tropical niche conservatism hypothesis, suggesting that the age of the taxon, its physiological adaptations and the global climatic changes that it experienced during its evolutionary history are reflected in the composition of current plant assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]