Benjamin K. Scott
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Benjamin K. Scott has a total of 6 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Aidan D. Farrell
Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
1 shared publication - Daniel Mark Koenemann
Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington, DC, 20059, USA
1 shared publication - Danny J. Gustafson
University of Pennsylvania
1 shared publication - Derek P. Webster
Department of Biology, The Citadel, Charleston, SC 29409, USA
1 shared publication - Isabella E. Gustafson
Department of Biological Sciences, Marine Biology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
1 shared publication - Logan A. Dix
Department of Biology, The Citadel, Charleston, SC 29409, USA
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Phylogeography of Coccoloba uvifera (Polygonaceae) Sampled across the Caribbean Basin
Coccoloba uvifera L. (seagrape) is a primarily dioecious neotropical tree species which often grows in the beach–forest transitional ecotone of coastal strand vegetation. We used five maternally inherited non-coding chloroplast regions to characterize the phytogeography of C. uvifera collected across the Caribbean Basin and Florida. Bayesian analysis revealed divergence between the Aruba–Trinidad–Tobago–Antigua–Jamaica island group and the continental Belize–Florida–US Virgin Islands (USVI) group at 1.78 million years before present (mybp), divergence between the Belize and Florida–USVI groups at 1.08 mybp, and a split of Antigua–Jamaica from Aruba–Trinidad–Tobago at 0.217 mybp. Haplotype network analysis supports the three clades, with the island group possessing the oldest haplotype. Based on geology and proximity, these clades correspond to South American (oldest), Central American, and North American (most recent). Coccoloba uvifera demographic expansion occurred during the Pleistocene epoch and peaked near the end of the last glacial maximum (ca. 0.026–0.019 mybp) when the global sea levels were 125 m lower than today. Our findings also reveal that tropical cyclones, which often impact coastal strand vegetation, did not affect genetic diversity. However, there was a positive association between latitude and the average number of substitutions, further enriching our understanding of the species’ phytogeography.
Open AccessPhylogeography of Coccoloba uvifera (Polygonaceae) Sampled across the Caribbean Basin
Coccoloba uvifera L. (seagrape) is a primarily dioecious neotropical tree species which often grows in the beach–forest transitional ecotone of coastal strand vegetation. We used five maternally inherited non-coding chloroplast regions to characterize the phytogeography of C. uvifera collected across the Caribbean Basin and Florida. Bayesian analysis revealed divergence between the Aruba–Trinidad–Tobago–Antigua–Jamaica island group and the continental Belize–Florida–US Virgin Islands (USVI) group at 1.78 million years before present (mybp), divergence between the Belize and Florida–USVI groups at 1.08 mybp, and a split of Antigua–Jamaica from Aruba–Trinidad–Tobago at 0.217 mybp. Haplotype network analysis supports the three clades, with the island group possessing the oldest haplotype. Based on geology and proximity, these clades correspond to South American (oldest), Central American, and North American (most recent). Coccoloba uvifera demographic expansion occurred during the Pleistocene epoch and peaked near the end of the last glacial maximum (ca. 0.026–0.019 mybp) when the global sea levels were 125 m lower than today. Our findings also reveal that tropical cyclones, which often impact coastal strand vegetation, did not affect genetic diversity. However, there was a positive association between latitude and the average number of substitutions, further enriching our understanding of the species’ phytogeography.