Université de Montréal
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Luc Brouillet
Edward Louis, Omaha Zoo (NE, USA)
Start: 2011-01-01
End: 2016-03-07

Project

Phylogeny of Madagascan Angraecum (Orchidaceae, Angraecinae)
My Ph. D project consists on studying the systematics and biogeography of the genus Angraecum in Madagascar using morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, as well as a biogeographical analysis. Reconstructing the phylogeny, delimiting genus Angraecum, and studying the historical biogeography of the group are our main research goals. A better knowledge of the systematics will help to establish a solid conservation basis for the group, which becomes rarer in the wild because of habitat loss due to human pressure. To better understand the taxonomy and relationships between species within genus Angraecum, our study has three main objectives. Our first objective is to evaluate the taxonomy of the genus Angraecum combining molecular and morphological data, in particular to test the monophyly of the genus, which might be mostly restricted to Madagascar and adjacent Indian Ocean islands. The second objective is to estimate the phylogeny of Angraecum in Madagascar, defined as monophyletic (sensu stricto), to determine to what extent it reflects the morphology and taxonomy. Our final objective is to assess the biogeographical hypotheses, including that of a Madagascan origin for Angraecum sensu stricto.

Keywords

Angraecum, phylogeny, systematics, taxonomy, biogeography, Madagascar, Conservation