DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The geographic and ecological basis of species richness: diversification in Mertensia

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The geographic and ecological basis of species richness: diversification in Mertensia Understanding why biotic diversity differs among geographic regions is a fundamental challenge in evolutionary biology and ecology. This research will combine phylogenetic analyses with biogeography and ecology to examine diversification of the bluebell genus, Mertensia, which has its greatest species richness in western North America but also occurs in Asia. The research aims to: (1) produce the first molecular phylogeny for Mertensia; (2) test for the ancestral area of Mertensia; (3) estimate the time of Mertensia?s origin and identify shifts in diversification; and (4) test for effects of geographic and ecological change on diversification rates. Chloroplast DNA sequences will be used to reconstruct a phylogenetic hypothesis of species relationships. A time-calibrated phylogeny will be used to test hypotheses of geographic and ecological change. This research will help explain the ecological and geographical dynamics of plant diversification and have implications for understanding effects of anthropogenic climate change. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at scientific meetings, and deposited in online databases. Outreach from this research will be directed toward native plant societies, popular periodicals, and work with the National Girls Collaborative Project, sponsored by the STEM Education Coalition.