This study shows hybridisation enables Amazonian trees to rapidly evolve chemical defences against herbivores, driving diversification in response to shifting herbivore communities.

bioRxiv · Jun 20, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology

The frequency and importance of polyploidy in tropical rainforest tree radiations

Rowan Schley, Rosalía Piñeiro, James A. Nicholls, Michelle L. Gaynor, Gwilym Peter Lewis, Flávia Fonseca Pezzini, Kyle Graham Dexter, Catherine Anne Kidner, R. Toby Pennington, Alex D. Twyford

This study examines polyploidy in Inga species, finding tetraploidy in 14% of sequenced species and increased selection in chemical defence loci in polyploids.

New Phytologist · Nov 23, 2025Peer-reviewedEvolutionary Biology

Thresholds of drought and terrain complexity shape biomasspatterns in South America's Caatinga

Brhenda Santos Lozado, Cinthia Pereira de Oliveira, Alessandro de Paula, Patrícia Anjos Bittencourt Barreto‐Garcia, Odair Lacerda Lemos, Ana Luísa Leite Pereira, Emanuel Araújo Silva, Rinaldo Luíz Caraciolo Ferreira, José Antônio Aleixo da Silva, Frans Germain Corneel Pareyn, Peter Watson Moonlight, Domingos Cardoso, ELMAR M. VEENENDAAL, Luciano Paganucci de Queiroz, Priscyla Maria Silva Rodrigues, , Róbson Borges de Lima

This study models potential aboveground biomass in the Caatinga, finding it highly sensitive to water availability and topography, with high biomass in rugged terrains and under specific precipitation thresholds.

bioRxiv · Nov 2, 2025 · PreprintEcology

Phylogeny and biogeography of Ceiba Mill. (Malvaceae, Bombacoideae)

Flavia Fonseca Pezzini, Kyle G. Dexter, Jefferson G. Carvalho-Sobrinho, Catherine A. Kidner, James A. Nicholls, Luciano P. Queiroz, R. Toby Pennington

This paper investigates the evolutionary and biogeographic history of the genus Ceiba using phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences, revealing distinct clades and patterns of divergence in neotropical species.

bioRxiv · Jul 10, 2020Evolutionary Biology