Projects

AFRODYN (2015-2019) - Central AFrican Rain fOrests: past DYNamics and future resilience - Funded by ANR (France)

Project leader: T Couvreur

Scientists involved from our team : T Couvreur, C Mariac, G Dauby, N Scarcelli, V Poncet, Y Vigouroux

Tropical rain forests (TRFs) harbor high diversity, representing 50% of terrestrial species biodiversity on just 10% of the land. Moreover, TRF provide vital ecosystem services and are also considered important global climate regulators. A better understanding of past dynamics and future resilience of TRF will provide vital information for pinpointing conservation strategy priorities and help management of TRF.

The current project will focus on the TRFs of Central Africa where the local diversity is thought to be highly threatened. The main questions we address are: How have species been able to adapt to past change? How will genetic diversity within species be affected by ongoing climate change? In this project, we plan to answer these questions using a multispecies approach and an unprecedented genetic dataset for African plant species. Our objectives will be to 1) test different hypotheses of Central African rain forests dynamics in the past within and between species and 2) infer the potential resilience of this ecosystem to future climate change.

To do so, a comparative phylogeography approach combined with species distribution modeling will be undertaken simultaneously on six co-distributed plant species in Central Africa and belonging to two model rain forest restricted plant families: Annonaceae and palms.

Associated publications:

Couvreur TL, Dauby G, Blach-Overgaard A, Deblauwe V, Dessein S, Droissart V, Hardy OJ, Harris DJ, Janssens SB, Ley AC, Mackinder BA, Sonké B, Sosef MS, Stévart T, Svenning JC, Wieringa JJ, Faye A, Missoup AD, Tolley KA, Nicolas V, Ntie S, Fluteau F, Robin C, Guillocheau F, Barboni D, Sepulchre P (2021) Tectonics, climate and the diversification of the tropical African terrestrial flora and fauna. Biological Review 96:16-51

Dagallier LP, Mbago FM, Luke WRQ, Couvreur TLP (2021) Three new species of Uvariodendron (Annonaceae) from coastal East Africa in Kenya and Tanzania. PhytoKeys 174: 107-126

Escobar S, Helmstetter AJ, Jarvie S, Montúfar R, Balslev H, Couvreur TLP (2021) Pleistocene climatic fluctuations promoted alternative evolutionary histories in Phytelephas aequatorialis, an endemic palm from western Ecuador. Journal of Biogeography 48:1023-1037

Montúfar R, Recalde A, Couvreur TLP (2021) High genetic diversity with low connectivity among Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) stands from Ecuadorean Amazonia. Biotropica 53:152-161

Strijk JS, Hinsinger DD, Roeder MM, Chatrou LW, Couvreur TL, Erkens RH, Sauquet H, Pirie MD, Thomas DC, Cao K (2021) Chromosome-level reference genome of the soursop (Annona muricata): A new resource for Magnoliid research and tropical pomology. Molecular Ecology Resources. In press

Dagallier LPMJ, Janssens SB, Blach-Overgaard A, Mackinder BA, Droissart V, Svenning JC, Sosef MSC, Stévart T, Harris DJ, Sonké B, Wieringa JJ, Hardy OJ, Couvreur TLP (2020) Cradles and museums of generic plant diversity across tropical Africa. New Phytologist 225:2196-2213

Helmstetter AJ, Amoussou BEN, Bethune K, Kamdem NG, Glèlè Kakaï R, Sonké B, Couvreur TLP (2020) Phylogenomic approaches reveal how climate shapes patterns of genetic diversity in an African rain forest tree species. Molecular Ecology 29: 3560-3573

Helmstetter AJ, Kamga SM, Bethune K, Lautenschläger T, Zizka A, Bacon CD, Wieringa JJ, Stauffer F, Antonelli A, Sonké B, Couvreur TLP (2020) Unraveling the phylogenomic relationships of the most diverse African palm genus Raphia (Calamoideae, Arecaceae). Plants 9(4):549

Kamga SM, Brokamp G, Cosiaux A, Awono A, Fürniss S, Barfod AS, Muafor FJ, Le Gall P, Sonké B, Couvreur TLP (2020) Use and Cultural Significance of Raphia Palms. Economic Botany 74:207-225

Couvreur TLP, Helmstetter AJ, Koenen EJM, Bethune K, Brandão RD, Little SA, Sauquet H, Erkens RHJ (2019) Phylogenomics of the Major Tropical Plant Family Annonaceae Using Targeted Enrichment of Nuclear Genes. Frontiers in Plant Science 9:1941

Kamga SM, Sonké B, Couvreur TLP (2019) Raphia vinifera (Arecaceae; Calamoideae): Misidentified for far too long. Biodiversity Data Journal 7:e37757

Lissambou BJ, Couvreur TLP, Atteke C, Stévart T, R Pineiro, Dauby G, Monthe FK, Ikabanga DU, Sonké B, M'batchi B, Hardy OJ (2019) Species delimitation in the genus Greenwayodendron based on morphological and genetic markers reveals new species. Taxon 68:442-454

Migliore J, Kaymak E, Mariac C, Couvreur TLP, Lissambou BJ, Piñeiro R, Hardy OJ (2019) Pre-Pleistocene origin of phylogeographical breaks in African rain forest trees: New insights from Greenwayodendron (Annonaceae) phylogenomics. Journal of Biogeography 46(1):212-223

Kamga SM, Niangadouma R, Stauffer FW, Sonké B, Couvreur TLP (2018) Two new species of Raphia. PhytoKeys 111: 17-30

Lissambou BJ, Hardy OJ, Atteke C, Stevart T, Dauby G, Mbatchi B, Sonke B, Couvreur TLP (2018) Taxonomic revision of the African genus Greenwayodendron (Annonaceae). PhytoKeys 114: 55-93

Onstein RE, Baker WJ, Couvreur TLP, Faurby S, Herrera-Alsina L, Svenning JC, Kissling WD (2018) To adapt or go extinct? The fate of megafaunal palm fruits under past global change. Proc. Royal Soc. B 285:20180882

Veranso-Libalah MC, Kadereit G, Stone RD, Couvreur TLP (2018) Multiple shifts to open habitats in Melastomateae (Melastomataceae) congruent with the increase of African Neogene climatic aridity. J. Biogeogr. 45:1420-1431

Dauby G, Stévart T, Droissart V, Cosiaux A, Deblauwe V, Simo-Droissart M, Sosef MSM, Lowry II PP, Schatz GE, Gereau RE, Couvreur TLP (2017) ConR: An R package to assist large-scale multispecies preliminary conservation assessments using distribution data. Ecol Evol. 7:11292-11303

Eiserhardt WL, Couvreur TLP, Baker WJ (2017) Plant phylogeny as a window on the evolution of hyperdiversity in the tropical rainforest biome. New Phytologist 214(4):1408-1422

Bourobou Bourobou PH, Niangadouma R, Issembe Y, Couvreur TLP (2016) Two new records of palm species for Gabon: Sclerosperma profizianum Valk. & Sunder. and Eremospatha quiquecostulata Becc.. Biodivers Data J 4:e10187

Couvreur TLP, Niangadouma R (2016) New species of Uvariopsis (Annonaceae) and Laccosperma (Arecaceae/Palmae) from Monts de Cristal, Gabon. PhytoKeys 68:1-8