[Taxacom] FW: [Biogeography Portal] Hypothesis: How Nothofagus rafted to New Zealand

[John Grehan]

 Ken,

Here's a response sent to you from the biogeography list server which I
have forwarded since your postings are from TAXACOM. John Grehan

-----Original Message-----
From: Juerg De Marmels [mailto:demarmjc at fastmail.fm] 
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 12:47 PM
To: biogeography at bohm.snv.jussieu.fr
Subject: Re: [Biogeography Portal] Hypothesis: How Nothofagus rafted to
New Zealand

Dear Ken,

I for my part would ask if considering Antarctica this would anyhow
affect the vicariance hypothesis of panbiogeography.....?? The rafting
tale recalls the SAME tale about how the  American Iguanas reached Fiji
and Tonga, over 9000 km away (!) (see H. G. Cogger & R. G. Zweifel 1999
(eds.)"Reptiles and Amphibians", Weldon Owen Pty Limited). That much for
today... 


Cordially!

Juerg DE MARMELS

On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 04:03:21 +0000, "Ken Kinman" <kinman at hotmail.com>
said:
> Dear All,
>      Now back to dispersal (sorry for the rant against
panbiogeographers
>      who
> overdo the vicariance thing, but Grehan really provoked me this time 
> and was asking for it in my opinion; I'm tired of being called a 
> Darwinian
> dispersalist when I recognize lots of vicariance too).   Anyway, I got
to 
> thinking about the additional evidence that Nothofagus menziesii of 
> New Zealand sharing the same species of fungi (Cyttaria gunni) with 
> Nothofagus cunninghamii of Tasmania and adjacent Australia.  Not 
> surprising since they are very closely related members of subgenus 
> Lophozonia.
> 
>      My hypothesis is that one (or more) Nothofagus cunninghamii trees

> rafted to New Zealand carrying on their branchs both their own fruit 
> and their unique fungus Cyttaria gunni.  The tree or trees could have 
> been dislodged due to land slides, massive floods, or even a 
> tsunami---pick your favorite disaster.
> 
>     Nothofagus can float for very long distances, even ALL the way 
> from Chile to Tasmania (see Barber, 1959, in the journal Nature; 
> "Transport of Driftwood from South America to Tasmania").  Therefore, 
> floating the shorter distance from Tasmania to New Zealand would have 
> been comparatively easy, especially in some of the strongest ocean 
> currents in the world.
> 
>      Some of the fruits would have been held above the ocean surface,
so
>      the
> salt water couldn't ruin them, and fruits that might not have been 
> fully ripe yet would have provided further protection to the seeds 
> inside.  In New Zealand, the new population evolved into a new species

> (N. menziesii) due to the founder effect.  The Cyttaria gunnii fungi 
> apparently didn't speciate (or maybe it actually has and it just 
> hasn't been shown yet by molecular testing).  But can't rule out 
> Cyttaria getting to New Zealand at a later time independently.
> 
>      The same rafting mechanism could have taken Nothofagus gunnii to 
> New Zealand to found the truncata-fusca-solandri group (all four form 
> a clade in subgenus Fuscospora).  Or maybe a bird could have done this

> as well, since these species apparently have no Cyttaria fungi 
> associated with them (although one could perhaps even imagine a bird 
> eating both Nothofagus cunninghamii seeds and Cyttaria spores before 
> taking off for--or being blown to--New Zealand).  Next I need to look 
> into mosses and insects which may be (like Cyttaria) unique to 
> Nothofagus.  No telling what all a floating tree could have carried 
> over with it, and I need all the evidence I can in order to get Grehan

> off my back.  But enough for one day.  I'm tired.
>       ----Cheers,
>             Ken Kinman
> 
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