At the intersection of geological activity, climatic fluctuations, and human pressure, the Mediterranean Basin – a hotspot of biodiversity – provides an ideal setting for studying endemism, evolution, and biogeography. Here, we focused on the Roucela complex, a group of 12 taxa found primarily in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Plastid and low-copy nuclear markers were employed to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and estimate divergence times within the Roucela complex and more specifically, Campanula erinus, using bothgenes and species tree analyses. Niche modeling, ancestral range estimation, and diversification analyses were conducted to provide further insights into patterns of endemism and diversification through time. These studies highlights the diversity and complexity of historical processes driving plant evolution in the Mediterranean Basin.

Campanula erinus

 

NSF DEB-1501676 Dissertation Research: Integrating Biogeography, Cytology, Niche Modeling and Phylogenetics to Understand the Evolutionary History of Endemic Campanula Species in the Mediterranean

 

 

 

Crowl, A., Myers, C., Cellinese, N. 2017. Embracing discordance: phylogenetic analyses provide evidence for allopolyploidy leading to cryptic diversity in a Mediterranean Campanula (Campanulaceae) clade. Evolution DOI: 10.1111/evo.13203

Crowl, A., Cellinese, N. 2017. Naming diversity in an evolutionary context: Phylogenetic definitions of the Roucela clade (Campanulaceae/Campanuloideae) and the cryptic taxa within. Ecology and Evolution 10.1002/ece3.3442

Crowl, A., Visger, C., Mansion, G., Hand, R., Wu, H.-H., Kamari, G., Phitos, D., Cellinese, N. 2015. Evolution and Biogeography of the Endemic Roucela complex (Campanulaceae: Campanula) in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ecology & Evolution 10.1002/ece3.1791

Funds and Awards

2016 Florida Museum of Natural History Austin Award winner! (Crowl)

2016 UF Scholars Grant to mentor an undergraduate in research – $1000 (Crowl)

2014 Botanical Society of America Graduate Student Research Award – $500 (Crowl)

2014 UF Biology Dept. Davis Graduate Fellowship in Botany – $300 (Crowl)

2014 UF CLAS grant for research – $500 (Crowl)

2013 UF Scholars Grant to mentor an undergraduate in research – $1000 (Crowl)

2012 Society of Systematic Biologists Graduate Student Research Award – $1900 (Crowl)

2012 American Society of Plant Taxonomists Graduate Research Award – $850 (Crowl)

2011 UF Biology Dept. Riewald-Olowo Research Award – $300 (Crowl)