Abstract Detail

Population Genetics

Fuller, Ryan Scott [1], McGlaughlin, Mitchell E. [2].

The Role Of Glacial Oscillatory Demographic Changes In The Central And Southern Rocky Mountains In Shaping The Genetic Structure Of Gunnison’s Mariposa Lily.

A primary goal of evolutionary biology is to comprehend the mechanisms creating species diversity. Peripatric speciation suggests that species arise when small populations become isolated from an ancestral population and differentiate due to no or limited gene flow. Quaternary glaciation in the southern Rocky Mountain region was patchy and most likely resulted in the isolation of plant populations with persistence in multiple refugia across the region. Calochortus gunnisonii (Liliaceae) resides within the Rocky Mountain Range and small satellite mountain ranges within Wyoming and South Dakota. It can be found on grassy hillsides, open coniferous woods, moist meadows, and dry gulches at high elevations from Montana to New Mexico. A genetic investigation of isolated populations of C. gunnisonii residing in the peripheral mountain ranges of Wyoming and South Dakota was undertaken. Using a varied set of molecular data, genetic patterns of divergence were found resulting from the balance between isolation and gene flow among populations. Sampling included populations from the contiguous range within the Rocky Mountains as well as disjunct populations within the Wyoming and South Dakota regions. Chloroplast DNA sequencing and 13 microsatellites have provided evidence indicating that C. gunnisonii persisted within multiple low elevation refugia during glacial interphases. Furthermore, data suggests that genetic admixture events within these refugia during glacial interphases successfully prevents speciation by overpowering the forces of selection and drift that act during isolation periods.

1 - 929 16th St. Apt. D, Greeley, CO, 80631, USA
2 - University of Northern Colorado, Biological Sciences, 501 20th Street, Ross Hall Biology, Greeley, CO, 80639, USA

Keywords:
Liliaceae
Calochortus
Refugia.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 71
Location: Salon 6/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2015
Time: 4:15 PM
Number: 71011
Abstract ID:438
Candidate for Awards:Margaret Menzel Award