Our latest research in @science.org
explores how island geography 🌏🏝️ shaped the evolution of rattan palms 🌿🌴 in tropical Asia.

🔓 Read the paper using this free-access link: science.org/stoken/autho...

#Biodiversity #Evolution #Biogeography

📖 Read more here: (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...)

5️⃣ Why does this matter? 🤔 The unique island geography of the Asian tropics 🌏 helps drive its incredible biodiversity. Understanding these patterns is key to conservation and understanding the origins of life on Earth! 🧬🌱 #Ecology #Conservation

4️⃣ In brief:
🔥 Radiators generate and distribute diversity.
🐣 Incubators produce diversity in isolation.
🔗 Corridors connect neighboring regions.
🗂️ Accumulators acquire diversity generated elsewhere.

3️⃣ 🏝️🇮🇩 The islands Java, Maluku & Sumatra act as Corridors, 🔗 connecting species across the region. Meanwhile, 🦘 Australia, 🇮🇳 India, 🇵🇭 the Philippines are Accumulators, collecting diversity from elsewhere! 🌿 #IslandBiogeography

2️⃣ 🔥 The 🏝️ island Borneo is a Radiator—it generates diversity and spreads it around! 🌿 Meanwhile, 🌏 Southeast Asia and the 🏝️ islands New Guinea & Sulawesi are 🥚 Incubators, evolving new species in isolation. #TropicalBiology

1️⃣ 🌍 Fresh out in #Science! The Asian tropics are among the most biodiverse places on Earth, but where does all that diversity come from? 🤔🔍 We used 🌴 phylogenomics and 🦴 new fossils to unravel the roles of different regions in generating and distributing species! 🌱 #Evolution