| Abstract Detail
Biogeography Hooker, Marcus [1], Hufford, Larry [2]. Topographic and glacial influences on the phylogeography of Synthyris rubra (Plantaginaceae). Landscape complexity influences organismal ranges and potential for gene flow. Changes to landscapes can fragment or shift ranges, altering gene flow and creating opportunities for evolutionary change. In the inland Pacific Northwest, the complex topography of the Northern Rocky Mountains, the climatic change caused by the uplift of the Cascade Mountains, and both landscape and climatic effects of the Pleistocene glaciations have been implicated in shaping organismal distributions and causing evolutionary changes. Synthyris rubra (Plantaginaceae) is a perennial herb endemic to both the intermountain valleys of the Northern Rocky Mountains and savanna areas west of these mountains in the arid interior of the Pacific Northwest. Our research addresses routes of range expansion in the history of S. rubra and whether genetic diversity in the species is geographically structured. We address (i) putative dispersal routes from the hypothesized ancestral area in Montana westward to the Columbia Plateau, (ii) glacial refugia and their influence on the current distribution of genetic diversity, (iii) the influence of glacial Lake Missoula on the genetic structure of populations in Montana, and (iv) whether the flooding of Lake Missoula across eastern Washington and into the Columbia Basin left an imprint on populations in this area. We test these questions in phylogeographic analyses that apply plastid intergenic spacer data. By understanding how organisms respond to these historic large-scale environmental events, we will be better able to predict how organisms will react in the future to similar climatic and landscape changes, such as global warming and habitat fragmentation.
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1 - Washington State University, School of Biological Sciences, PO Box 644236, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
2 - Washington State University, School Of Biological Sciences, 312 Abelson Hall, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA
Keywords:
Phylogeography
biogeography
Plantaginaceae.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 59
Location: Salon 3/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2015
Time: 9:15 AM
Number: 59006
Abstract ID:331
Candidate for Awards:None |
