JFIFPhotoshop 3.08BIM@New Study from The Morton Arboretum Reveals Why Mexico and Centr720260505PSCIENMAGUAuthoruNew Study from The Morton Arboretum Reveals Why Mexico and Central America’s Mountain Forests Are Oak Tree Hotspots Science@https://scienmag.com/new-study-from-the-morton-arboretum-reveals© 2026 Sciencehttps://scienmag.com/In a groundbreaking study published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers have uncovered pivotal insights into the extraordinary biodiversity of oak trees in the mountainous regions of Mexico and Central America. This extensive investigation, led by University of Chicago Ph.D. candidate Kieran Althaus in collaboration with The Morton Arboretum […]ScienceBioBiologyBiology biogeographic hotspots for trees"climatic adaptability of oak treesecological role of oak forestsevolutionary biology of oaks!fossil-calibrated plant evolution"molecular clock in plant evolutionmountain forest ecosystemsoak species diversificationoak tree biodiversity in Mexico#oak tree species in Central Americaphylogenetic studies of oaksQuercus genetic analysisC    !'"#%%%),($+!$%$C   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$"A!1A"Qaq2B#3Rb$r%CS4!1"2AQq#aR$B ?Ze &ʉ:\]Iғ{{TTYӃR6_Ȭ3^ Xwz轪cDօMǭ~;YlHR{~{R ۶)!IiJaDm%_>._VUlxڹ*tiTYeu *:y#t(ʚnTGۖ+e_xVNj}pnrb%Z*Ë8n{P'ř,M9 @A7ˏSZ+M'n.=JIDR#IQ)AjaMRCRV}#<*zDBJFGI|mʽ5-X2`՟ԙ v 4=~X#3fh-MiaŢK6Wj~[EMVVnt }0Γii#֘B(*r,ye⽉]Bo8%O~拉 S3jt(ujt:A?(f4Kqe&8WM rcJD.)An<':lzV~ֆP~J:B[ ƍnW\zm4RhgZSQm0[|&PSh^1X¦ʬ&2j+r-Ń̽``8PTǞӳ hiv[eX"ڕkoc f/* &:l#P-n˥DJdnkmZ]"ZChL䉿ҥۜL[9fIKd:Gc/Ft"Ϯ2+U3NM`{O6<뽗m%즈(`΍M; u)UB/'ݬRXS(\t'~!o'[ BgZ<sq<@ie*V$7 (4N }1M)7JZQKwUMaK3r2=udKh5a{ƛOJB!j$ c|F5BK-udH[a$XZ催l6@ Cq͍l~ׄܯʙkO4IRT{n} oSeuEz AF1GemO;RL.; 2늽׹&!!b{4ܺ˺t٥, VԅHik) !I 7IzbFׂ?Nձ*N`%&8)Ӕnk ܡM1B^a/k3I+B6:v=9JOR+EkY a#ڿn2z|ḁs'2DjnO@ o0BDe@_a0P{=no:>mR S۟*&!EQqEGRnn{7Ԛj]SMXRah}+Pir0d)u !"'CJT  );I޷ƚeҵdC`\Lhhm@ADwێeFt95״OܷO҇R1:S@VG77+KQGPV}k,]NxU(8 耐K{{cq$}q1_|Ą̯-TO($u|B̨ס9bDT$-IT*uO4}}u3CHKEfK (Wz׻nsJ,c,T)tב2Βm؎ABʎVh.*؊6b.@3-d1 MtHiI_ Nt $XpYYB_M\92=3t6o8;H͋%"ߦ2 3/RT8&Y%h^uChˡRCYFid4rۂ]'nA[W/8sM*Ve-\9daCaͧma;e!*#b0ƮgT^j#ѡ#!MU{Y@7a=Pi+m0^Pe@^_ҭ-^q/=v^oˎcLYf(؛\JĦv)ߓTU C6iLv);5:۪:R:oqo}ǜjjϯjEU-ߏM@t'AƇ˩mH #NO,2[JMQ JeViDu݀ |wi1Q1y}E:Um{}-_}2㡦Xw\R?Lq]ПN='Ye&ebrE jtq)ڥ..tuH+%lJ77ojw-TKք!TCp V'ӭʩ<9)lu62GίON Omq|IDKPɐ@UHBJyx*#N 7#S[p(-${ByMzu\+UxH)W2{|cCO1K2BN^vlIw{w_X^R?GbYRQSeqլ~,8ZG Fr܈@Us (BV,%n676r!| %}*8mF\jYRI7bʮW1=¨WOүppPXRr9='%t\ $G#McVå)ntrnm,A/ 0MK @$)f/8\D;66[U;yRq%*\GR H!pj06QO7ۿlxJ57U$fV1 YvGDBykq_ی)DIrwv`GMFu KU9unu} Ū jLҔbwU^ f]KZn#z3bʊOL*$Lcм-\ i.lobEۛP6z7ZާlY穙~zdFԐtzl^kAg<>3L(َ1c76޸gͨfU'*HRRFTxX YffiR22 U",ܙ?k[ RIö*Ә-nWr!̱EkVsʤi7jL CcsXw@erCJC= zz ($3PFŎڒ$(. 4sNJ,1VU!*1uUbU \4Ue&c8DB^0&i7]&ZGQ$axNW2jWpJ%i^'#߭_D6H{팭E)V$#udU[cRҞV@؟w,,3ULRRk{A1ԝ҇I + 'z]QP!\q[JC:H<;sg/{iKm=Rk;X~l3]TqgRlɊE{ئ(IFfE/u%-*%qeqmxʫE5?X(ߌ8t:2gUw~:e,&V6~0{0GfB K8صO><%!e_(/|T[A4yPnv=0]lnq893JGیL|7HZj'&J}4܈qm( 4RM&`&3$mD4?, ¨(iV-QcjL d8\N܂}A WdfmXl9nju)RXECcTz!_ȓR2UңelG )Ο0 n=ǪWp!GZp| zU|4葥cQ5KO8.zP 8$71򐢔&@n{ qmTݹLI7lUUwi! o0 U0:ΙxS=؎8KR˙c =f .U髰*+`A\_1 TЕP o}Zf~`+!1j.q1+R7=3p]C*;xwĺCqTFxVRH~֪5,#1F) ^ݱ? lΕv*|Z)OW udo߶oc;U NfY+[KPJH)7܎ Cs-V^ ؎?MP#zIsUe*H7Z6u蠍ߜ;dJ@JR]Qt\_>lCJc3Q&A'm^l>x̨֡2~Q6%I)_ԷPRƒm^yy: !mp\{қq:PNLm(\l(n|xZpH*;gPMЋƶYBy碲bmogQ`F&uR. oRHS*rR\p,){`=%Sk4-%d4fBR nN>45GR%a{xc`Qe܀"A*+Fl-tYw^lJ^sH9' MĪ>\Jy&33UϗjFOqtp@4 2H7q0TI$:@`$`Kġy J ¬olv QXB?{sk__ p- I|\X^Z ϵgI?d͕IRQ7oZeGQv'SԏR?1Z=-XP%-.*=jKS؎RP;w /fҸp:c )N%^_N:9R{mOjGnHmP4Z`&iY/!~[jNoF~ۈJ2uJ7L9;<3VK #ss&n;jĒmUB*ό]54W%K4˲؁e[=E},#RҷHJNknqUNlg[!܁{sUCeub-6OF:1JJծo]B-D*^Yq4)2iΛ ~ZAqSoLNrz Eu:R/n/ǿ9rlZIv4e^]H7Q&֊6Imea%:UE BbF~{cVWDI *[)wϦ0b]cCu w*hM$HTȳ*i(<|P &M3*!rZB\RdxQS$I)A`lcO쐤L 7iL#ߦ&-!k=+ؤ @!e@on/T=?19[dx'Sɞ"q/ ?3iZW6$d,66a%Tia iEjX(I=`moQ? Qe] {n&X5Ҕ*:RnQ^\PjI3^rLY>ON7ildwm͇ Pr[qS"N24$WHJZ _h ,״ؔr5[n-9=]yVxo4L:C% 4r-|3#J;quZ(7K,(:Gbg&.(])IJ@c銱 *n*bpK,)ee*)oEH}jŨ/nG ; - =H[*`6+e,ܒo ?!>'DTiWnu" N$Jᥒ[Je͛)iR$q 'K!Z}ljx4T m0ǴzT$ɘiLWu )vX|8Kj;m׎K6&,9VB[w l\x]!a-F6E]a5'B/Vei֫62\ 6u9u?@lmbxc2CdȽLNBX@:uT/͍80ױᗈpguj\ m߼7,lrj,*L^C~_AQwc^7]TŢ֙Sib 0A -|AR8iLx~Q,B6 \L ,x/T%4(Hx(|/ܐ qfDb`t] ʐuyҲ/( *Q'}&& G_Rv'rԧЕ(&&nT,L J: