Kelsey L Glennon

University of the Witwatersrand | wits · School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences

Environmental factors may shape the spatial distribution of ploidy levels. Here, we undertook a cytogeographical study of Rhodohypoxis baurii var. platypetala (Hypoxidaceae), a Drakensberg near‐endemic taxon. We addressed the following questions: (1) Are there mixed‐ploidy populations or is each population represented by a single ploidy level? (2)...

Cold temperatures have been posited as a key driver of polyploidy (possession of multiple chromosome sets). However, high temperatures associated with fire, and the indirect impact of post-fire environments in polypoid formation and establishment deserve more attention for a comprehensive understanding of polyploid ecology, evolution, and current d...

Hypoxis, the largest genus within the Hypoxidaceae, has its primary centre of diversity and endemism within southern Africa. The taxonomy of the genus has always presented a challenge due to a lack of distinct diagnostic characters that readily define species and infraspecific taxa—with polyploidy, hybridization, and apomixis thought to contribute...

Under the changing climate, the persistence of Afrotemperate taxa may be threatened as suitable habitat availability decreases. The unique disjunct ranges of podocarps in southern Africa raise questions about the persistence of these species under climate change. Here, we identified likely environmental drivers of these distributions, characterised...

Opuntia engelmannii Salm‐Dyck (Cactaceae:Opuntioideae) is a morphologically variable cactus that has invaded pasture lands in South Africa and Kenya. Biological control of invasive Opuntia species can be very successful when the correct agent is matched with the appropriate host. This research investigated the similarity (morphological and genetic)...

Under the changing climate, the persistence of Afrotemperate taxa may be threatened as suitable habitat availability decreases. The unique disjunct ranges of podocarps in southern Africa raise questions about the persistence of these species under climate change. Here, we identified likely environmental drivers of these distributions, characterised...

Populations of rare and restricted species are commonly challenged due to risks associated with reduced genetic diversity, environmental variation, and demographic stochasticity. Killickia grandiflora (Lamiaceae) is one of three Killickia species endemic to the Drakensberg Mountain Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its confirmed distribution i...

The highly invasive Campuloclinium macrocephalum (Asteraceae; ‘pompom weed’), native to South America, was introduced to South Africa where it has flourished and now threatens the native diversity of the grasslands it has invaded. The Argentine C. macrocephalum population is known to comprise at least three ploidy levels, and exhibit aneuploidy. Pl...

Temminck's pangolin ( Smutsia temminckii ) is a threatened mammal found in southern and eastern Africa. It is the most widely distributed African pangolin species yet is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to a projected population decline of 30%–40% within the next three generations. This species' secretive, predominantly nocturnal behav...

The long observed disparity in fruit production among individual trees of the iconic African baobab, Adansonia digitata L. presents a potential challenge for the supply of fruit and seeds for food, medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Moreover, this disparity presents an unsolved mystery with ecological as well as economic implications. African baobabs...

Polyploidy affects the ecological and evolutionary success of plants through altering phenotypes and physiological traits, which could enable polyploids to respond more easily to environmental changes. Here, we used two plant taxa (Rhodohypoxis baurii var. baurii and R. baurii var. platypetala; Hypoxidaceae) to compare leaf functional traits betwee...

Heavy metal polluted soils can be remediated using plants, a process called phytoremediation. However, high concentrations of heavy metals can negatively affect plant physiology and growth. We experimentally evaluated the effects of cadmium (Cd) on the growth, (i.e. height, shoot and biomass) and physiology (i.e. leaf chlorophyll and relative water...

This Commentary is a response to a Commentary published in the May/June 2020 issue: Nattrass N. Why are black South African students less likely to consider studying biological sciences? S Afr J Sci. 2020;116(5/6), Art. #7864, 2 pages. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/7864 Responses to the Commentary in the May/June 2020 issue have been publish...

Premise of research. Plant diversification can be a result of many different factors, such as environment or genome size variation. Further, the presence of phenotypic or genomic variation could highlight the presence of a cryptic lineage. Here, we tested whether phenotypic and genomic differences support the presence of a cryptic lineage in the So...

Plant‐pollinator‐interactions are often highly specialised and may even lead to coevolution. Yet when plants and pollinators coevolve, it is not clear if this will also result in frequent cospeciation. Here we investigate the mutual evolutionary history of South African oil‐collecting Rediviva bees and their Diascia host plants, in which the elonga...

Foraging modes (ambush vs. active foraging) are often correlated with a suite of morphological, physiological, behavioural and ecological traits known as the "adaptive syndrome" or "syndrome hypothesis." In snakes, an ecological correlate often reported in the literature is that ambush‐hunting snakes have a higher relative meal size compared to act...

Edited by JS Boatwright Genetic diversity information can be valuable for establishing successful management strategies for indigenous and invasive species. Here we conducted a genetic assessment of two invasive and one native Tamarix species in South Africa, where all species are known to hybridize. Hybridization can encourage biological invasion...

The African baobab's (Adansonia digitata) breeding system has not been experimentally verified, and it remains unclear why such a stark disparity exists between 'male' trees that produce few, if any, fruit, and 'female' trees that produce many fruit consistently year after year. Combined results from gene flow analyses of 26 trees scored for nine m...

We assessed the validity of a recently described baobab species Adansonia kilima that was suggested to be a diploid occurring in both eastern and southern Africa at high elevations within the range of the well-known tetraploid species A. digitata. We used a combination of phylogenetic analyses and statistical comparisons of various traits (e.g., fl...

Premise of the study: Microsatellites were developed for the widespread Helichrysum odoratissimum (Asteraceae) to estimate gene flow across diploid populations and to test if gene flow occurs among other closely related lineages within this genus. Methods and results: Ten primer pairs were developed and tested using populations across South Afri...

The southern African flora is characterized by high species richness, which is mostly concentrated in few hotspots of biodiversity. Whereas the evolutionary processes that have generated these patterns have been well-studied for the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), the Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC) – the only true alpine region in southern Africa, ha...

Morphological variation in plants can be affected by climate, which influences how species are identified as well as hypotheses of species divergence. We tested whether climatic niches were correlated with the observed morphological (leaf) variation of four geographically overlapping and reproductively similar Helichrysum species (Hilliard’s Group...

Polyploids are thought to harbor more genetic diversity than diploids, despite the genetic bottleneck they experience upon formation. Identifying the means by which polyploids become more genetically variable can advance our understanding of the evolutionary trajectories of polyploid lineages. Gene flow is one such mechanism that can contribute to...

Whole-genome duplication (polyploidy) occurs frequently and repeatedly within species, often forming new lineages that contribute to biodiversity, particularly in plants. Establishment and persistence of new polyploids may be thwarted by competition with surrounding diploids; however, climatic niche shifts, where polyploids occupy different niches...

Unlabelled: • Premise of the study: Polyploidization is a key factor involved in the diversification of plants. Although polyploids are commonly found, there remains controversy on the mechanisms that lead to their successful establishment. One major problem that has been identified is that newly formed polyploids lack mates of the appropriate p...

How does spatial scale (extent and grain) influence the relative importance of different environmental factors as determinants of plant community composition? Are there general scale thresholds that mark the transition from primarily edaphic to primarily climatic control of plant communities? Global. We surveyed the empirical literature and identif...

Hybridization in plants can be common, may lead to increased genetic variation, and in some instances the formation of new species. For endangered species, hybridization can introduce novel genetic variation and potentially increase genetic diversity. In contrast, hybridization can negatively affect an endangered species or population by introducin...

‘Ecogeographic isolation’ describes the combined role of ecology and geography as a reproductive barrier, and an important component in speciation. Evidence increasingly shows that this form of isolation is important for maintaining the genetic integrity of populations and species. Further, ecogeographic isolation can be a reproductive barrier betw...

Microsatellites were developed for the native, perennial herbs Houstonia longifolia and H. purpurea to establish rates and patterns of hybridization among these and other closely related lineages within the genus. Seven primer sets were developed and tested using populations across eastern North America and into parts of the Midwest. Primers amplif...

Variation in ploidy levels in Phragmites australis is a well-documented phenomenon although North American populations are less studied than European ones. It has been suggested, based on morphological measurements, that native and introduced P. australis subspecies in North America represent different ploidy levels. The objectives of this study we...