DOI: 10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8dw
title: Phylogeny and historical biogeography of <em>Ayenia</em> (Malvaceae) reveal two independent Caribbean colonizations

description: The Caribbean biodiversity hotspot has both high plant diversity and
 endemism, yet the origins of this unique flora have not been well
 explored. Here, we use a phylogenetic approach with the American genus
 Ayenia (sensu stricto) to test hypotheses on the origins, number, and
 timing of its Caribbean lineages. We conduct time-calibrated phylogenetic
 and biogeographic analyses using DNA sequences of three chloroplast
 markers from ca. 70 % of the species diversity of Ayenia, including
 representatives from all sections of the genus and from all regions in the
 Americas. Contrary to existing hypotheses, we conclude that Ayenia
 diverged from neotropical Byttneria in South America 21.7 Ma in the early
 Miocene, as global climates were warming. Early diverging species
 of Ayenia are from mesic communities, characterized by an arborescent
 habit, larger leaves, and multiaperturate foliar nectaries. The
 majority of species of Ayenia resolve themselves into two major clades;
 within each, we find parallel migrations north, into North America and the
 Caribbean. Caribbean lineages of Ayenia thus arose at least
 twice, with one colonization dating to 6.2 Ma in the late Miocene, and a
 second to 2.8 Ma in the late Pliocene, with evidence of at least one
 dispersal back to mainland North America. Given the distributions of
 species and the divergence times we recovered, we reject over-land
 dispersal as a viable route into the Caribbean islands for Ayenia. While
 the monophyly of Ayenia continues to be supported, two of its three
 sections are non-monophyletic. In light of our results, we also suggest an
 updated sectional classification of the genus.
description: # Phylogeny and historical biogeography of *Ayenia* (Malvaceae) reveal two
 independent Caribbean colonizations Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8dw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8dw) ##
 Description of the data and file structure These data include DNA
 sequences of three chloroplast markers (*trnL* intron, *trnL-trnF* spacer,
 *trnH-pbsA* spacer) generated with Sanger sequencing of dried or fresh
 leaf material. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Sharber_Ayenia_84_taxa.nexus **Description:** This dataset contains
 aligned DNA sequences of three chloroplast markers (*trnL* intron,
 *trnL-trnF* spacer, and *trnH-psbA* spacer) from 84 plant specimens,
 including 70 in the genus *Ayenia* (Malvaceae: Byttnerioideae) and 14
 outgroups in related genera (*Byttneria, Rayleya, Abroma,* and
 *Kleinhovia).* #### File: Sharber_Ayenia_64_taxa.nexus
 **Description:** This dataset contains aligned DNA sequences of three
 chloroplast markers (*trnL* intron, *trnL-trnF* spacer, and *trnH-psbA*
 spacer) from 64 plant specimens, including 50 in the genus *Ayenia*
 (Malvaceae: Byttnerioideae) and 14 outgroups in related genera
 (*Byttneria, Rayleya, Abroma,* and *Kleinhovia*). It is identical to
 Sharber_Ayenia_84_taxa.nexus except that 20 taxa missing &gt; 5 % sites
 have been removed, and the remaining sequences have been realigned
 accordingly. ## Code/software Files are in nexus format and can be viewed
 as plain text. ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations
 of the data: * All sequences are published on NCBI's GenBank,
 accession numbers PX617296-PX617432, HM488369- HM488373,
 HM488376-HM488385, HM488389-HM488391, and HM488405-HM488407 Data was
 derived from the following sources: * Herbarium specimens and fresh leaf
 material.