I have a long standing interest in Sundaic Fagaceae since becoming captivated with the family during my undergraduate studies. Despite being such a prominent component of the tropical forest of Southeast Asia, the family has receive less attention compared to other charismatic families like Dipterocarpaceae. Thus, my goal is to contribute more towards our understanding of the family especially in the Sundaland.
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Evolutionary and conservation genetics of keystone Stone Oaks of Borneo
W.H. Tan, F. Metali and J.S. Strijk
Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam
Stone Oaks ( Lithocarpus ) are the second largest genus within Fagaceae with over 340 recorded species to date. The genus has a widespread distribution throughout Asia with two centers of diversity being Borneo and Indochina. Despite being intricately linked to Southeast Asia’s tropical rainforest history, Lithocarpus has garnered very little interest in comparison to the iconic Dipterocarpaceae. Like many tropical plant species, many Lithocarpus species are threatened by habitat lost and climate change.
To our knowledge, no molecular studies have been undertaken that encompass the extensive array of morphological adaptations to seed predation in the family, nor have there been intricate studies on the interplay between predation, seed fate and the maintenance and distribution of genetic diversity. Hence, we propose a study to understand the relation between morphology and evolutionary history and establish conservation and ex situ action plan for Bornean Stone Oaks. To achieve these objectives, we look to reconstruct a phylogenetic tree and determine its relation to fruit morphology, investigate the intricacies of seed defenses and dispersal and to develop ex-situ growing protocol for conservation of these species.