Michael D. Pirie

Department of Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. mpirie<at>sun.ac.za


Research interests:

The focus of my research is on testing biogeographic hypotheses. I use molecular phylogenetic techniques applied to various groups of flowering plants (in particular Annonaceae; Danthonioideae [Poaceae]; and Erica [Ericaceae]) to address questions ranging from why tropical South America is so diverse, to what are the forces driving patterns of dispersal and diversification across the tropics or between the continents of the Southern Hemisphere, or on a more local scale in mountain systems such as the New Zealand Southern Alps and South African Cape fold mountains. I am interested in the methodologies of phylogenetic systematics; in particular the fast developing fields of molecular dating and reconstructing reticulate species phylogenies; and also in taxonomy and classification.


Selected publications (links to full list and to popular articles)


Pirie, M.D., Oliver, E.G.H. & Bellstedt, D.U. (2011) A densely sampled ITS phylogeny of the Cape flagship genus Erica L. suggests numerous shifts in floral macro-morphology. Molec. Phylo. Evol. URL


Pirie, M.D., Lloyd, K.M., Lee, W.G. & Linder, H.P. (2010) Diversification of Chionochloa (Poaceae) and biogeographic history of the New Zealand Southern Alps. J. Biogeog., 37, 379-392 URL


Pirie, M.D., Humphreys, A.M., Barker, N.P. & Linder, H.P. (2009) Reticulation, data combination and inferring evolutionary history: an example from Danthonioideae. Syst. Biol., 58, 612-628 URL PDF


Pirie, M.D., Klitgaard, B.B. & Pennington, R.T. (2009) Revision and Biogeography of Centrolobium (Leguminosae - Papilionoideae). Syst. Bot., 34, 345-359 URL


Pirie, M.D., Humphreys, A.M., Galley, C., Barker, N.P., Verboom, G.A., Orlovich, D., Draffin, S.J., Lloyd, K., Baeza, C.M., Negritto, M., Ruiz, E., Cota Sanchez, J.H., Reimer, E. & Linder, H.P. (2008) A novel supermatrix approach improves resolution of phylogenetic relationships in a comprehensive sample of danthonioid grasses. Molec. Phylog. Evol., 48, 1106-1119 URL


Pirie, M.D., Vargas, M.P.B., Botermans, M., Bakker, F.T. & Chatrou, L.W. (2007) Ancient paralogy in the cpDNA trnL-F region in Annonaceae: implications for plant molecular systematics. Amer. J. Bot., 94, 1003-1016 URL 


Pirie, M.D., Chatrou, L.W., Mols, J.B., Erkens, R.H.J. & Oosterhof, J. (2006) 'Andean-centred' genera in the short-branch clade of Annonaceae: Testing biogeographic hypotheses using phylogeny reconstruction and molecular dating. J. Biogeog., 33, 31-46 URL


Pirie, M.D., Chatrou, L.W., Erkens, R.H.J., Maas, J.W., Van der Niet, T., Mols, J.B. & Richardson, J.E. (2005) Phylogeny reconstruction and molecular dating in four Neotropical genera of Annonaceae: the effect of taxon sampling in age estimations. Plant species-level systematics: new perspectives on pattern and process (ed. by F.T. Bakker, L.W. Chatrou, B. Gravendeel and P.B. Pelser), pp. 149-174. Regnum Vegetabile 143, A. R. G. Gantner Verlag, Liechtenstein URL