Biodiversity of Macadamias and Relatives

Macadamias and their relatives in the southern hemisphere plant family Proteaceae include 3 of the 10 largest flowering plant genera in Australia (Grevillea, Hakea, and Banksia). With colleagues in Australia, the lab is inferring a time-calibrated phylogeny for the group with which we are addressing hypotheses related to its biogeography and the evolution of ecologically relevant traits (e.g., those involved in pollination, dispersal, and phosphorus homeostasis). Austin has been studying Proteaceae for 20+ years, but only the most recent publications are listed on this page.

Funding: 

Lambers, J. T., P. M. Finnegan, H. J. Bohnert, J. M. Cheeseman, and A. R. Mast. 2011–2013. Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate limited environment? Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP110101120.

Mast, A. R. Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Ecological Diversification of Subfamily Grevilleoideae (Proteaceae). 2005–2009. National Science Foundation Award Number 0516340.

Related Publications

Cardillo, M., Weston, P., Reynolds, Z., Olde, P., Mast, A. R., Lemmon, E. M., Lemmon, A., Bromham, L. 2017.

The phylogeny and biogeography of Hakea (Proteaceae) reveals the role of biome shifts in a continental plant radiation.

 Evolution 71: 1928–1943
Mast, A., P. M. Olde, R. O. Makinson, E. Jones, A. Kubes, E. Miller, & P. H. Weston. 2015.

Paraphyly changes understanding of timing and tempo of diversification in subtribe Hakeinae (Proteaceae), a giant Australian plant radiation.

 American Journal of Botany 102: 1634–1646
Thiele, K., P. Weston, and A. R. Mast. 2015.

Paraphyly, modern systematics, and the transfer of Dryandra into Banksia (Proteaceae): A response to George. 

 Australian Systematic Botany 28: 194–202.
Mast, A. R., E. F. Milton, E. H. Jones, R. M. Barker, W. R. Barker and P. H. Weston. 2012.

A time-calibrated phylogeny of the woody Australian genus Hakea (Proteaceae) supports multiple origins of insect-pollination among bird-pollinated ancestors.

 American Journal of Botany 99: 472–487.