Banca de DEFESA: YACOV KILSZTAJN

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : YACOV KILSZTAJN
DATE: 26/02/2026
TIME: 15:00
LOCAL: Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/iyb-zopu-spv)
TITLE:

Trait evolution in Neotropical Myrtaceae and their correlations with environmental factors

KEY WORDS:

Herbarium; phylogenetic comparative methods; climatic niche; preadaptation.

PAGES: 71
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUMMARY:

Understanding the evolution of plant lineages in relation to environmental variation is fundamental to explaining the processes that generate and structure biodiversity. In this dissertation, we investigate the evolution of functional traits and their correlations with environmental factors in the Neotropical region, using the family Myrtaceae as a model. In the first chapter, we test the reliability of herbarium data for predicting plant traits in their natural environments. Using regression models and machine-learning approaches, we demonstrate that although desiccation alters the dimensions of vegetative and reproductive organs, these changes are predictable, validating the use of biological collections as data sources for evolutionary ecology. In the second chapter, we examine whether changes in functional traits precede (preadaptation) or follow (adaptation) the occupation of new habitats. The results reveal an evolutionary asymmetry: colonization of open and seasonal environments is often facilitated by pre-existing combinations of vegetative traits, whereas occupation of mesic environments is associated with the evolution of reproductive traits after colonization. In the third chapter, we test the influence of functional traits on climatic niche breadth. Using a clade with broad ecological diversity as a case study (Psidium), we find that the number of seeds per fruit is positively correlated with the ability of species to occupy wider gradients of temperature and precipitation. Finally, in the fourth chapter, we examine how internal constraints and allocation trade-offs limit the independent evolution of flowers, fruits, and seeds. The study reveals a hierarchical organization in which flower size exerts a cascading effect on fruit and seed dimensions, suggesting that the evolution of the reproductive phenotype is governed by allometric relationships. In summary, the results indicate that the evolution of functional traits in Neotropical Myrtaceae both responds to environmental factors and determines the environments that lineages are able to occupy. This research reinforces the need to integrate reproductive and vegetative traits within macroevolutionary perspectives to better understand functional diversification in the Neotropics.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - ANSELMO NOGUEIRA - UFABC
Externo à Instituição - DIOGO BORGES PROVETE - UFMS
Presidente - 3058386 - VANESSA GRAZIELE STAGGEMEIER