EAPSI:Tracing the Evolution and Distribution of an Alpine-Arctic Plant Between North America and China

Stubbs Rebecca, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

The discontinuous distribution of plants between Eastern Asia (EAS) and North America (NA) represents one of the most remarkable patterns in the North Temperate Flora, and it has fascinated biologists for over 150 years. Multiple conflicting hypotheses have been put forth to explain it, and there is much to be gained by investigating a group that shows this distribution pattern. Micranthes (Saxifragaceae), is an alpine-arctic herbaceous plant genus found in the mountains of Asia and North America, and is an excellent candidate for investigating this pattern. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Chun-Lei Xiang, who has done extensive fieldwork in China, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Botany in Kunming, China. This research will test hypotheses offered to explain the EAS-NA distribution, and will allow the researcher to assess how plants adapted and radiated in response to historic climate change between and within continents. This information can be used to predict how plants will respond to future climate change and will be broadly applicable to other species. Understanding how and why a species has obtained its current distribution allows for insights into evolutionary processes and helps to unravel general patterns of biodiversity and diversification. This research will evaluate hypotheses about this disjunction and provide new input about the mechanisms of evolution and radiation in the northern hemisphere. This will serve to hypothesize routes of migration and subsequent bursts of diversification in response to historic climate change. Southern China possibly served as the center of origin for some of the endemic taxa, and these taxa provide an important connection for trans-continental movements. A comprehensive biogeographic reconstruction of this clade will delineate routes of migration and subsequent surges of diversification in response to historic climate changes. Extensive fieldwork, herbarium research, next generation sequencing, and cutting-edge computational analyses will all be used to unravel the evolution and biogeography of this group. This NSF EAPSI award supports the research of a U.S. graduate student and is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.