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1. It is often assumed that there is a trade‐off between maternal provisioning and dispersal capacity, leading small‐seeded species to disperse further than large‐seeded species. However, this relationship between dispersal distance and seed mass has only been quantified for species from particular sites or with particular dispersal syndromes. 2. We provided the first large‐scale, cross‐species quantification of the correlations between dispersal distance and both seed mass and plant height. Seed mass was positively related to mean dispersal distance, with a 100‐fold increase in seed mass being associated with a 4.5‐fold increase in mean dispersal distance (R2 = 0.16; n = 210 species; P < 0.001). However, plant height had substantially stronger explanatory power than did seed mass, and we found a 5‐fold increase in height was associated with a 4.6‐fold increase in mean dispersal distance (R2 = 0.54; n = 211 species; P < 0.001). 3. Once plant height was accounted for, we found that small‐seeded species dispersed further than did large‐seeded species (R2 = 0.54; n = 181 species; slope = −0.130; P < 0.001); however, seed mass only added 2% to the R2 of the model. Within dispersal syndromes, tall species dispersed further than did short species, while seed mass had little influence on dispersal distance. 4. Synthesis. These findings enhance our understanding of plant life‐history strategies and improve our ability to predict which species are best at colonizing new environments.

Aim: Orchidaceae is the most species-rich angiosperm family and has one of the broadest distributions. Until now, the lack of a well-resolved phylogeny has prevented analyses of orchid historical biogeography. In this study, we use such a phylogeny to estimate the geographical spread of orchids, evaluate the importance of different regions in their diversification and assess the role of long-distance dispersal (LDD) in generating orchid diversity. Location: Global. Methods: Analyses use a phylogeny including species representing all five orchid subfamilies and almost all tribes and subtribes, calibrated against 17 angiosperm fossils. We estimated historical biogeography and assessed the importance of different regions for rates of speciation, extinction and net species diversification. We evaluated the impact of particular LDD events on orchid diversity by asking how many species evolved in the new range subsequent to those events. Results: Orchids appear to have arisen in Australia 112 Ma (95% higher probability distribution: 102.0—120.0 Ma), then spread to the Neotropics via Antarctica by 90 Ma (HPD: 79.7—99.5 Ma), when all three continents were in close contact and apostasioids split from the ancestor of all other orchids. Ancestors of vanilloids, cypripedioids and orchidoids+ epidendroids appear to have originated in the Neotropics 84—64 Ma. Repeated long- and short-distance dispersal occurred through orchid history: stochastic mapping identified a mean total of 74 LDD events or 0.8 Ma⁻¹. Across orchid history, Southeast Asia was the most important source and maximally accelerated net diversification; across epidendroids, the Neotropics maximally accelerated diversification. Main conclusions: Our analysis provides the first biogeographical history of the orchids, implicating Australia, the Neotropics and Antarctica in their origin. LDD and life in the Neotropics — especially the Andes — had profound effects on their spread and diversification; > 97% of all orchid species are restricted to individual continents.

Seed dispersal allows plants to colonise new sites and escape from pathogens and intraspecific competition, maintaining plant genetic diversity and regulating plant distribution. Conversely, most plant species form mutualistic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in a symbiosis established immediately after seed germination. Because AM fungi are obligate symbionts, using the same dispersal vector as their host should be highly advantageous for their survival, but the co-dispersal of seeds and AM fungal spores has never been confirmed. We aim to clarify the potential role of European birds, essential dispersers for many plant species, as co-dispersers of seeds and AM fungal spores. In total, 63 bird droppings with intact seeds were placed in sterilised soil and maintained for 4 months in a protected environment to avoid contamination. Additionally, 173 bird droppings and 729 gauze swabs used to clean birds’ feet were inspected for AM fungal spores. Although no spores were detected by direct observation of these samples, seven Rubus ulmifolius seedlings obtained from four independent droppings of Erithacus rubecula and Sylvia melanocephala were colonised by AM fungi. Our results show that birds can effectively co-disperse viable seeds and AM fungal spores, potentially over long distances, providing a pivotal mechanism to understand the cosmopolitan distribution of AM fungi.

Large animals provide crucial seed dispersal services, yet face continued threats and are susceptible to changes in landscape composition and configuration. Thus, there is a growing imperative to improve understanding of animal‐generated seed dispersal using models that incorporate spatial complexity in a realistic, yet tractable, way. We developed a spatially explicit agent‐based seed dispersal model, with disperser movements informed by biotelemetry data, to evaluate how landscape composition and configuration affect seed dispersal patterns. We illustrated this approach for the world's second largest ratite, the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), a highly mobile generalist frugivore considered an important long‐distance disperser for many plant species across Australia. When animal movement is unrestricted, model parameters related to seed gut passage largely determine seed dispersal kernels. However, as habitat loss and fragmentation increase, the extent of long‐distance dispersal events is reduced and seed shadows became progressively more aggregated. This effect is due to the emu not being able to move between disconnected parts of the landscape, with small changes in habitat structure causing decreased long‐distance dispersal. We simulated seed dispersal patterns generated by three commonly used generic models of animal movement – unbiased and biased correlated random walks and Lévy walks – to evaluate how different representations of movement affect estimations of animal movements and emergent seed dispersal patterns. Simulated movements informed by the emu biotelemetry data resulted in longer median seed dispersal distances than do the three generic models. Synthesis. Changes in landscape composition and configuration can dramatically alter patterns of zoochorous seed dispersal as they influence animal movement. However, when models are used to simulate the patterns of seed dispersal, decisions about how animal movement is represented also affect estimates of seed dispersal. Changes in landscape composition and configuration can dramatically alter patterns of zoochorous seed dispersal as they influence animal movement. However, when models are used to simulate the patterns of seed dispersal, decisions about how animal movement is represented also affect estimates of seed dispersal.

1. Bryophytes are typically seen as extremely efficient dispersers. Experimental evidence suggests that efficient short-distance dispersal coupled with random long-distance dispersal (LDD) leads to an inverse isolation effect. Under the latter, a higher genetic diversity of colonizing propagules is expected with increasing isolation, counteracting differentiation beyond the range of short-distance dispersal. 2. This expectation is tested from a review of evidence on spatial genetic structure and analyses of isolation-by-distance (IBD) at different scales. 3. A decay of the IBD signal, characterized by non-significant slopes between kinship coefficients and geographic distance was observed beyond 100 m. A second slope shift was observed at distances larger than 1 km, with a proportion of significant slopes in more than one third of the datasets. 4. The decay of the IBD signal beyond 100 m, which reflects efficient LDD, is consistent with the inverse isolation hypothesis. Persistence of a significant IBD signal at medium ranges in one third of the analysed cases suggests, however, that the inverse isolation effect is not a rule in bryophyte spore dispersal. Furthermore, the higher proportion of significant IBD patterns observed at scales over 100 km likely marks the limits of regional dispersal, beyond which an increasingly smaller proportion of spores travel. 5. Synthesis. We discuss the differences between experimental and genetic estimates of spore dispersal and conclude that geographic distance remains a significant proxy of spore colonization rates, with major consequences for our understanding of actual migration capacities in bryophytes, and hence, our capacity to model range shifts in a changing world.

Premise of the Study A key question in evolutionary biology is why some clades are more successful by being widespread geographically, biome diverse, or species‐rich. To extend understanding of how shifts in area, biomes, and pollinators impact diversification in plants, we examined the relationships of these shifts to diversification across the mega‐genus Salvia. Methods A chronogram was developed from a supermatrix of anchored hybrid enrichment genomic data and targeted sequence data for over 500 of the nearly 1000 Salvia species. Ancestral areas and biomes were reconstructed using BioGeoBEARS. Pollinator guilds were scored, ancestral pollinators determined, shifts in pollinator guilds identified, and rates of pollinator switches compared. Key Results A well‐resolved phylogenetic backbone of Salvia and updated subgeneric designations are presented. Salvia originated in Southwest Asia in the Oligocene and subsequently dispersed worldwide. Biome shifts are frequent from a likely ancestral lineage utilizing broadleaf and/or coniferous forests and/or arid shrublands. None of the four species diversification shifts are correlated to shifts in biomes. Shifts in pollination system are not correlated to species diversification shifts, except for one hummingbird shift that precedes a major shift in diversification near the crown of New World subgen. Calosphace. Multiple reversals back to bee pollination occurred within this hummingbird clade. Conclusions Salvia diversified extensively in different continents, biomes, and with both bee and bird pollinators. The lack of tight correlation of area, biome, and most pollinator shifts to the four documented species diversification shifts points to other important drivers of speciation in Salvia.

1. Biological invasions constitute a major component of human-induced environmental change and have become a world-wide problem threatening global biodiversity and incurring massive economic costs. Consequently, research on biological invasions proliferates, placing a major emphasis on species traits and habitat characteristics associated with successful invasion. Yet, the mechanisms underlying rapid spread and the resulting patterns remain largely unexplored. 2. Using data collected since 1980 and earlier at the county level all over China, we studied the contribution of potential dispersal vectors – railroads, rail stations, roads, general human activity, rivers and winds – to the spread of 17 of China's worst invasive plant species. Focusing on long-distance dispersal events, we calculated the minimal arrival speed for the first record of each species in each county. We also developed and applied a new method to account for observation bias due to the proximity to roads, using observational data of 776 native (non-invasive) plant species throughout China. 3. We found that human-related vectors are accountable for the vast spread of all 17 invasive plant species we examined. Spread patterns were characterized by long jumps of tens to hundreds of kilometres and extremely fast average spread rates of roughly 2–4 km per year, and a very broad range (0·1–128·2 km per year) with high variability between years. These rates are much higher than those expected from classic dispersal vectors such as water, wind or animals. Commonly used fat-tailed dispersal kernels did not fit the observed distribution of long jumps for any species. 4. Synthesis. We found pervasive empirical evidence for the overriding role of humans in the largescale spread of invasive plants from multiple taxa. The observed spread patterns differ significantly from those portrayed in the literature, emphasizing the need to develop new frameworks to explore large-scale spread in general and invasive spread in particular. With public data sets of invasive species observations becoming increasingly more available, the time is ripe to go beyond exploration of species traits and habitat suitability and to examine the actual patterns and the mechanisms of largescale invasive spread, even at a scale of thousands of kilometres over land.

• Ocean currents play a significant role in driving the long-distance dispersal (LDD), spatial distribution and phylogeographic patterns of many organisms. Integrating phylogeographic analyses and mechanistic ocean current modelling can provide novel insights into the evolutionary history of terrestrial littoral species but has been rarely applied in this context. • We focused on a group of Cycas that have buoyant seeds and occupy coastal habitats. By integrating evidence from mechanistic simulations and whole plastomic data, we examined the role of ocean circulation in shaping the phylogeography of these Cycas species. • Plastomes of the studied Cycas species showed extreme conservatism, following a post-Pleistocene divergence. Phylogenies revealed three subclades, corresponding to the Pacific Ocean, Sunda Shelf and Indian Ocean. The ocean modelling results indicate that hotspots of seed stranding coincide well with the contemporary distribution of the Cycas species and that drifting trajectories from the three subclades are largely confined to separate regions. • These findings suggest that ocean current systems, by driving long-distance dispersal, have shaped the distribution and phylogeography for Cycas with buoyant seeds. This study highlights how the combination of genomic data and ocean drift modelling can help explain phylogeographic patterns and diversity in terrestrial littoral ecosystems.

Aim Species distribution models typically project climatically suitable habitat for trees in eastern North America to shift hundreds of kilometres this century. We simulated potential migration, accounting for various traits that affect species' ability to track climatically suitable habitat. Location Eastern Canada, covering ~3.7 million km2. Methods We simulated migration‐constrained range shifts through 2100 using a hybrid approach combining projections of climatically suitable habitat based on two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5, RCP8.5) for three time periods and two species distribution modelling approaches with process‐based models parameterized using data related to dispersal ability and generation time. We developed a unique “migration kernel” that uses seed dispersal traits and observed migration velocities to obtain kernel shape and dispersal probabilities for each tree species. We then calculated lags between the migration‐constrained range limits obtained through simulations and limits of climatically suitable habitat. Results All species demonstrated northward range shifts at the leading edge of their simulated distribution through 2100, but the magnitude and rate of that shift varied by species and time period. Climatically suitable habitat limits were found to be north of simulated distribution limits across both RCPs, with lags increasing through time. On average, simulated distribution that remained within climatically suitable habitat declined more under RCP8.5 than RCP4.5, with large areas of the rear edge of the simulated distribution becoming partially or completely climatically unsuitable for many species. Main conclusions Climatically suitable habitat limits projected for 2100 far exceeded migration‐constrained range limits for all 10 tree species, particularly for temperate species. This study underlines the limited extent to which tree species will track climate change via natural migration. Integrating observed migration velocities, seed dispersal and generation time with SDM outputs allows for more realistic evaluations of tree migration ability under climate change and may help orient forest conservation and restoration efforts.

AIM: Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae) is a predominantly pantropical genus (< 600 species) that includes the third most important tropical tuber crop and species of pharmacological value. Fossil records from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres were used to test hypotheses about the origin of the genus Dioscorea, and to examine potential macroevolutionary processes that led to its current distribution. LOCATION: Pantropical distribution. METHODS: Divergence times were estimated using the most comprehensive phylogeny of the group published to date based on plastid sequences and fossil calibrations, applying a relaxed‐clock model approach. Ancestral areas and range shifts were reconstructed using time‐stratified likelihood‐based models, reflecting past continental connectivity and biogeographical models incorporating the spatial range of fossils. RESULTS: Fossil‐informed biogeographical analysis supported colonization of the Nearctic by ancient yam lineages from the western Palaearctic and subsequent migration to the South. Most of the pantropical South American, African and Southeast Asian lineages experienced a relatively recent diversification in the Oligocene–Miocene. Long‐distance dispersals were inferred for the colonizations of the New World, Africa and Madagascar. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Dioscorea likely originated between the Late Cretaceous and the Early Eocene in the Laurasian Palaearctic, followed by possible dispersal to South America via the Eocene North Atlantic Land Bridge.