| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section / ASPT Jolles, Diana [1], Wolfe, Andrea D. [1]. Biogeography and phylogenetics of the Pyrola picta species complex (Pyroloideae: Ericaceae). THE Pyrola picta species complex (Pyroloideae: Ericaceae) has cumulatively been composed of several taxa, spanning more than a century of scientific literature. The circumscription of species in this phenotypically plastic, mycoheterotrophic group was and is still contended among many researchers. Historically, opinions vary in accordance with the evolutionary processes evoked to describe phenotypic differences, of which the most impressive are a suite of characters associated with photosynthetic activity. As a result, many strategies have been employed to describe hypothetical patterns of evolution in this group, each testing assumptions about underlying processes against analyses of morphological, biochemical, or ecological variation. In this study we test the hypothesis that microsite differences, rather than speciation events, are responsible for the extreme morphological variation exhibited in members of the Pyrola picta complex. Characterizing whether or not morphology and genotypic variation are correlated, in addition to the extent to which ecological factors (including mycorrhizal symbioses) are associated with morphological differences, may illuminate some of the key processes responsible for maintaining such a high degree of phenotypic plasticity in this group. The expectation that local genetic variation within sympatric populations of Pyrola species is consistently greater than genetic variation between spatially disjunct, allopatric populations across the western United States is tested here using analyses of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) in conjunction with information about the morphology, ecology, and geographic distribution of these plants.[c.e.:srb]
Log in to add this item to your schedule
1 - Ohio State University, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, 300 Aronoff Laboratory, 318 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, Ohio, 43210-1293, USA
Keywords:
Pyrola picta
biogeography
Phylogenetics
AFLP.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: 48-187
Location: Auditorium/Bell Memorial Union
Date: Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
Time: 12:30 PM
Abstract ID:485 |
