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Convergent evolution of gigantism in the flora of an isolated archipelago

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Abstract

Animals often evolve conspicuous differences in body size after colonising isolated islands. However, far less is known about repeated patterns in the evolution of plant size on islands. We tested for convergent evolution of leaf area, seed size and plant stature in the flora of the Chatham Islands (i.e. Rēkohu), which are located 700 km off the east coast of New Zealand. First, we measured leaf area, seed size and plant stature from populations of 22 plant taxa on the Chatham Islands. These data were then compared to analogous measurements from their sister taxa on the mainland to test for evidence of island gigantism, and whether size changes differ between leaves, seeds and stature. Second, we collated data from the literature to test whether size changes in endemic taxa differed among plant growth forms or were correlated with divergence times. Results showed that all three plant traits tended to increase in size on the Chatham Islands. However, field data showed that size increases tended to be more consistent in seeds and leaves than in stature. Data from the literature indicated that size increases also differed among growth forms. Herbaceous species showed the strongest evidence of gigantism, followed by woody plants, while graminoids showed a weak trend towards dwarfism. Insular size increases in seeds and leaves were also positively related to divergence times, indicating that taxa which have resided on the Chatham Islands for longer periods show stronger evidence of gigantism than taxa which arrived more recently. Overall results illustrate that gigantism is a hallmark of the Chatham Island flora, providing a remarkable example of convergent evolution.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Maui Solomon and Susan Thorpe from Hokotehi Moriori Trust and Patrick Kavanagh for assistance in the field. *Data not listed in Table 1 will be made publically available upon publication.

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  1. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

    Bart Te Manihera Cox & K. C. Burns

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  1. Bart Te Manihera Cox
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  2. K. C. Burns
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Correspondence to K. C. Burns.

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Cox, B.T.M., Burns, K.C. Convergent evolution of gigantism in the flora of an isolated archipelago. Evol Ecol 31, 741–752 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-017-9909-0

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