Curriculum
1979 BSc, Univ. Aberdeen
1980 MSc, Univ. Oxford
1981 National Tree Seed Bank, Honduras
1982 Research Assistant, Oxford Forestry Institute
1996 PhD, Systematics of Leucaena (Leguminosae), Univ. Oxford
1996 Irene Manton Prize, Linnean Society of London
1997 Research Associate, Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
1998 Prix De Candolle, Societé de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva
1999 Jesse M. Greenman Prize, Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis
2000 Royal Society University Research Fellow, Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
2008 Departmental Lecturer, Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
2010 Assistant Professor, Institute for Systematic Botany, Univ. Zurich
Research
- Systematics, biogeography & evolutionary dynamics of species diversification in legumes (Leguminosae)
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Revisionary taxonomy including taxonomic monographs of Leucaena & Lupinus.
- Biogeography and historical assembly of neotropical plant diversity; underlying causes of differences in species richness among clades and geographic areas; recent work on plant diversification in the high elevation Andes, seasonally dry neotropical forests, and the Cerrado biome of central S. America.
- Species-level phylogenetics, especially selection of appropriate DNA sequence loci, methods to detect potentially non-functional nrDNA psuedogene sequences, and using gene trees to detect reticulation caused by hybridization.
- Early crop domestication in Mesoamerica and the Andes.
Master Projects
Plant Systematics and Evolution
My research focuses on plant systematics, biogeography and the evolutionary dynamics of species diversification. Our aim is to understand patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification across time and space. We are interested in why some groups of organisms have more species than others; why some evolutionary lineages diversify more rapidly than others; what are the explanations for these imbalances in the Tree of Life; how does diversification differ between lineages in different biomes; and what can this tell us about historical assembly of biomes? We work on the legume family, one of the most spectacular examples of evolutionary success in the flowering plants and one of the most economically important groups of plants. If you are interested Masters projects in these areas, please contact me for further information. List of possible projects.
Current Graduate Students
Erik Koenen, Biogeography and evolutionary dynamics of legume diversification - mimosoid legumes, 2011-
Guy Atchison, Biogeography and evolutionary dynamics of legume diversification - Lupinus, 2011-
Co-supervisor, Edeline Gagnon, Systematics and biogeography of Caesalpinia (Leguminosae), University of Montreal, 2010-
Co-supervisor, Julien Vieux, Biogeography and diversification history of the neotropical plant genus Macrocarpaea (Gentianaceae), University of Neuchatel, 2010-
Co-supervisor, Tom Flynn, Evolution of nickel hyperaccumulation and serpentine endemism in the genus Alyssum (Brassicaceae), University of Oxford, 2007-
Previous Graduate Students and post-docs in Oxford
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Julie Hawkins 1996, PhD, Systematics of Parkinsonia and Cercidium (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), now lecturer at the University of Reading, UK.
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Dr Donovan Bailey 2000-2003, Post-doc on Leverhulme-funded project on Leucaena, now associate professor, New Mexico State University, USA.
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Ruth Eastwood 2006, PhD, Systematics of Andean Lupinus and the origin of L. mutabilis, now ENSCONET Data Assistant, Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, UK.
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Marcelo Simon 2008, PhD, Systematics and evolution of Mimosa (Leguminosae) and the assembly of a neotropical plant diversity hotspot, now at Cenargen, EMBRAPA, Brasilia, Brasil.
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Tiina Särkinen 2010, PhD, Historical assembly of seasonally dry tropical forest diversity in the tropical Andes, now a post-doc at the Natural History Museum, London, working on Solanaceae.
Collaborative Links
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
Biology Department, New Mexico State University, USA
Universidad Agraria La Molina, Lima
Universidade Federal Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil
LPB, USZ and BOL herbaria, Bolivia
Legume Phylogeny Working Group
Selected Publications
All publications
Drummond, C.S., Eastwood, R.J., Miotto, S.T.S &
Hughes, C.E. 2012. Multiple continental radiations and correlates of diversification in Lupinus (Leguminosae): testing for key innovations with incomplete taxon sampling. Systematic Biology. 61: 443-460.
doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syr126
Särkinen, T., Pennington, R.T., Lavin, M., Simon, M.F. &
Hughes, C.E. 2012. Islands in the Andes: persistence and isolation explain endemic legume species richness in Andean dry tropical forest. Journal of Biogeography 39: 884-900.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02644.x
Govindarajulu, R.,
Hughes, C.E., Alexander, P. & Bailey, C.D. 2011. The complex evolutionary dynamics of ancient and recent polyploidy in Leucaena (Leguminosae). American Journal of Botany 98: 2064-2076.
doi: 10.3732/ajb.1100260
Govindarajulu, R.,
Hughes, C.E. & Bailey, C.D. 2011. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of diploid Leucaena (Leguminosae) reveal cryptic species diversity and patterns of allopatric divergent speciation. American Journal of Botany 98: 2049-2063.
doi: 10.3732/ajb.1100259
Simon, M.F., Grether, R., De Quieroz, L.P., Särkinen, T.E., Dutra, V.F. &
Hughes, C.E. 2011. The evolutionary history of Mimosa (Leguminosae): towards a phylogeny of the sensitive plants. American Journal of Botany 98: 1201-1221.
doi:10.3732/ajb.1000520
Pennington, R.T., Lavin, M., Sarkinen, T., Lewis, G.P., Klitgaard, B.B. &
Hughes, C.E. 2010. Contrasting plant diversification histories within the Andean biodiversity hotspot. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences 106: 20359-20364.
doi:10.1073/pnas.1001317107
Simon, M.F.,
Hughes, C.E. & Harris, S.A. 2010. Four new species of Mimosa (Leguminosae) from the central highlands of Brazil. Systematic Botany 35: 277-288.
doi:10.1600/036364410791638333
Lewis, G.P.,
Hughes, C.E., Daza Yomona, A., Solange Sutoyo, J. & Simon, M.F. 2010. Three new legumes endemic to the Marañon Valley, Peru. Kew Bulletin 65: 209-220.
doi: 10.1007/s12225-010-9203-6
Simon, M.F., Grether, R., de Quieroz, L., Skema, C., Pennington, R.T. &
Hughes, C.E. 2009. Recent assembly of the Cerrado, a neotropical plant diversity hotspot, by in-situ evolution of adaptations to fire. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences 106: 20359-20364.
doi:10.1073/pnas.0903410106
Hawthorne, W.D. & Hughes, C.E. 2008. Optimising linear taxon sequences derived from phylogenetic trees – a reply to Haston & al. Taxon 57: 698-704.
Hughes, C.E., Rajanikanth, G., Robertson, A. Filer, D.L., Harris, S.A. & Bailey, C.D. 2007. Serendipitous backyard hybridization and the origin of crops. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences 104: 14389-14394.
doi:10.1073/pnas.0702193104
Hawkins, J.A., Boutaoui, N., Cheung, K.Y., van Klinken, R. &
Hughes, C.E. 2007. Intercontinental dispersal prior to human translocations revealed in a cryptogenic invasive tree. New Phytologist 175: 575-587.
doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02125.x
Hughes, C.E. & Eastwood, R.J. 2006. Island radiation on a continental scale: exceptional rates of plant diversification after uplift of the Andes. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences 103: 10334-10339.
doi:10.1073/pnas.0601928103
Hughes, C.E. & Atahuachi, M. 2006. A new species of Leucochloron (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) endemic to Bolivia. Kew Bulletin 61: 559-563.
Hughes, C.E., Eastwood, R.J. & Bailey, C.D. 2006. From famine to feast? Selecting nuclear DNA sequence loci for plant species-level phylogeny reconstruction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Series B 361: 211-225.
doi:10.1098/rstb.2005.1735
Hughes, C.E., Lewis, G.P., Daza Y., A. & Reynel, C. 2004. Maraniona. A new Dalbergioid legume genus (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) from Peru. Systematic Botany 29: 366-374.
doi:10.1600/036364404774195557
Bailey, C.D.,
Hughes, C.E. & Harris, S.A. 2004. Using RAPDs to develop DNA sequence loci for species-level phylogeny reconstruction: an example from Leucaena (Fabaceae). Systematic Botany 29: 4-14.
doi: 10.1600/036364404772973483
Lavin, M., Schrire, B., Lewis, G., Pennington, R.T., Delgado-Salinas, A., Thulin, M.,
Hughes, C., Beyra Matos, A. & Wojciechowski, M.F. 2004. Metacommunity process rather than continental tectonic history better explains geographically structured phylogenies in legumes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Series B 359: 1509-1522.
doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1536
Bailey, C.D., Carr, T.G., Harris, S.A. &
Hughes, C.E. 2003. Characterization of angiosperm nrDNA polymorphim, paralogy, and pseudogenes. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 29: 435-455.
doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.08.021
Hughes, C.E., Daza Y., A., & Hawkins, J.A. 2003. A new Palo Verde (Parkinsonia – Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) from Peru. Kew Bulletin 58: 467-472.
Hughes, C.E., Bailey, C.D. & Harris, S.A. 2002. Divergent and reticulate species relationships in Leucaena (Fabaceae) inferred from multiple data sources: insights into polyploid origins and nrDNA polymorphism. American Journal of Botany 89: 1057-1073.
Hughes, C.E. 1998. Monograph of Leucaena (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). Systematic Botany Monographs 55: 1-244.
