DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2p8v2
title: Data from: Flower colour and phylogeny along an altitudinal gradient in the Himalaya of Nepal

description: 1. Both the phylogenetic structure and trait composition of flowering
 plant communities may be expected to change with altitude. In particular,
 floral colours are thought to vary with altitude because Hymenoptera
 typically decline in importance as pollinators while Diptera and
 Lepidoptera become more important at higher elevations. Thus, ecological
 filtering among elevation zones and competitive processes among
 co-occurring species within zones could influence the floral chromatic
 cues present at low and high elevations. 2. We collected data from 107
 species of native flowering plants in the Himalaya mountains of central
 Nepal over an elevation range of 900-4100 m, which includes habitat
 ranging from subtropical to subalpine within a relatively small
 geographical area. 3. There was significant phylogenetic clustering in the
 communities as a result of monocots, particularly orchids, which were
 found overwhelmingly at lower elevations. Phylogenetic signal for floral
 colours indicated that related species had colours that were more
 disparate than expected under Brownian motion evolution. Floral colours
 were significantly more diverse in the higher elevation subalpine zone
 than in the subtropical zone. However, the chromatic cues at both
 elevations were consistent with the hue discrimination abilities of the
 trichromatic hymenopteran visual system. 4. Synthesis. Flower colour is
 not highly differentiated between subtropical and subalpine vegetation due
 to differences in the available orders of insect pollinators, or by the
 rate or direction of color evolution in the lineages composing the two
 communities. Differences in colour diversity between zones may reflect
 differences in the ecologically available morphospace based on pollinator
 species richness and the constancy of their foraging behaviour. The
 chromatic signals present in Nepali species are similar to the signals
 found in insect-pollinated floras of other regions of the world.
description: Phylogenetic tree of
 Nepali species in Shrestha et al., Journal of EcologyNexus format file of
 phylogenetic tree with branch lengths in MyrShrestha et al_JEcol_Nepali
 species.nexShrestha et al_J
 Ecol_Nepali species_color hexagon dataCartesian and polar
 coordinates for floral colour loci in bee-vision hexagonal colour space:
 Nepali species sample in Shrestha et al., Journal of Ecology, with
 comparative data for insect-pollinated species in Australia from Shrestha
 et al. (2013) New Phytologist 198:301-310.Shrestha et al_J
 Ecol_Nepali species_MAD_minAD dataMetrics of fit between
 the inflection points of a floral reflectance spectrum and the hue
 discrimination optima of honey bee vision. For description of the metrics
 and details of the calculation, see the Supporting Information file of
 Shrestha et al., Journal of Ecology, or Shrestha et al. (2012) New
 Phytologist 198:301-310.Shrestha et
 al_JEcol_phylomorphospace analysisInternal and tip node
 locations in morphospace (floral colours in bee vision colour hexagon) of
 Nepali species, with brandch lengths and orientations