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Details of this Research Plan
| Research Project Number: | 2010-579 |
| Research Project Title: | Testing adaptive explanations for floral variation in Mertensia fusiformis |
| Investigator: | Jessica Forrest |
| Abstract:: | In alpine habitats, patchiness in snow accumulation and timing of spring snowmelt produces marked variation in the timing at which plants begin to flower, even over small spatial scales. Thus, plants in early- and late-melting patches can experience very different conditions during their flowering periods, despite growing in close proximity. If the difference in flowering time between early and late patches is sufficiently great, there may be little cross-pollination and genetic exchange between plants growing in the two patch types. This can result in the plants adapting to the conditions specific to the local flowering time. This study will evaluate the evidence for this type of adaptation in alpine bluebells. This species shows pronounced variation in floral characteristics that may be related to the local timing of snowmelt and flowering. Specifically, I will test whether early- and late-flowering plants are visited by different pollinators, and whether natural selection imposed by pollinators can explain the differences in floral morphology among populations. I will also test an alternative hypothesis: that the different flower types differ in sensitivity to cold weather conditions, and that this variation in susceptibility is responsible for the observed patterns. This project fits into a larger plan of research investigating how the timing of flowering and timing of pollinator activity are responding¡ªecologically and evolutionarily¡ªto climate change. |
| Affiliated Institution(s):: | University of Toronto |
| Collaborator(s):: | Jane Ogilvie, James Thomson |
| Year submitted:: | 2010 |
| Study Period:: | 1 year beginning in 2010 |
| Status/Notes:: | login as a Research Committee member Current Status = Under review. |
| Approval/Conditions of Approval:: | The "Approval/Conditions of Approval" memo is not available. |
| Funding Duration(s):: | We hope for 5 years. |
| Funding Source(s):: | A research grant to James Thomson from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)--pending (April 2010). |
| Funding Amount(s):: | Likely on the order of 40 000/year (CDN), to cover all lab operating expenses--but TBA. |
| Principal organism(s):: | Mertensia fusiformis and its pollinators (Bombus bifarius queens and Osmia spp.) |
| Classification:: |
Level = species interactions Theme = Research Subject = Pollination |
| Info on any prior research sites:: | In addition to those listed above, I have had sites in the meadow above the pumphouse, at Rosy Point, in Marmot meadow, at Avery Picnic area, and along the 403 trail, as well as sites around Mt CB and on the Kebler Road. Some of these (e.g. Rosy Point, 403 trail, Avery) have already been cleaned up, and the others will be cleaned up (i.e., trapnests removed) this summer. |
| Prior conditions of research:: | (((Approval of one of my previous projects was contingent on my preventing unnatural gene flow between elevations. That project ended up not working, anyway, so the issue did not arise. For a subsequent project that entailed moving trap-nesting bees between elevations, escape of transplanted bees was prevented by the use of emergence traps over the nests. Also, I have had to choose my sites for trap-nest deployment carefully to avoid manipulating local pollinator densities in areas where that would have affected other researchers. Finally, there were some issues in 2008 about my possibly excessive use of pin flags near trails. Flags will not be so abundant or so prominently displayed this year. |
| Mapped locations of Jessica Forrest : | Click here to search in the research site database |
| Project Description: | Project description details for this Research Plan are withheld from public view by Lab policy. Please contact director at rmbl.org for more information on this policy. |
| Why RMBL is appropriate for this research:: | |
| References used for this research plan:: |
Andrew, R. L., R. Peakall, I. R. Wallis, and W. J. Foley. 2007. Spatial distribution of defense chemicals and markers and the maintenance of chemical variation. Ecology 88:716-728.
Campbell, D. R. 1989. Measurements of selection in a hermaphroditic plant: variation in male and female pollination success. Evolution 43:318-334.
Dang, Q. L., V. J. Lieffers, and R. L. Rothwell. 1991. A self-contained freezing chamber for tree ecophysiological studies in the field. Forest Science 37:924-930.
Devaux, C., and R. Lande. 2008. Incipient allochronic speciation due to non-selective assortative mating by flowering time, mutation and genetic drift. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275:2723-2732.
Fetscher, A. E. 2001. Resolution of male-female conflict in an hermaphroditic flower. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 268:525-529.
Forrest, J., and J. D. Thomson. 2010. Consequences of variation in flowering time within and among individuals of Mertensia fusiformis (Boraginaceae), an early spring wildflower. American Journal of Botany 97:38-48.
Fox, G. A. 2003. Assortative mating and plant phenology: evolutionary and practical consequences. Evolutionary Ecology Research 5:1-18.
Galen, C., and M. L. Stanton. 1995. Responses of snowbed plant species to changes in growing-season length. Ecology 76:1546-1557.
Hedhly, A., J. I. Hormaza, and M. Herrero. 2005. The effect of temperature on pollen germination, pollen tube growth, and stigmatic receptivity in peach. Plant Biology 7:476-483.
Hendry, A. P., and T. Day. 2005. Population structure attributable to reproductive time: isolation by time and adaptation by time. Molecular Ecology 14:901-916.
Herrera, C. M., M. C. Castellanos, M. Medrano, L. D. Harder, and S. C. H. Barrett. 2006. Geographical context of floral evolution: towards an improved research programme in floral diversification. Pages 278-294 in Ecology and Evolution of Flowers. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA.
Inouye, D. W. 2008. Effects of climate change on phenology, frost damage, and floral abundance of montane wildflowers. Ecology 89:353-362.
Lankinen. 2001. In vitro pollen competitive ability in Viola tricolor: temperature and pollen donor effects. Oecologia 128:492-498.
Seymour, R. S., Y. Ito, Y. Onda, and K. Ito. 2009. Effects of floral thermogenesis on pollen function in Asian skunk cabbage Symplocarpus renifolius. Biology Letters 5:568-570.
Siepielski, A. M., and C. W. Benkman. 2007. Convergent patterns in the selection mosaic for two north American bird-dispersed pines. Ecological Monographs 77:203-220.
Skogsmyr, I., and Å. Lankinen. 2002. Sexual selection: an evolutionary force in plants. Biological Reviews 77:537-562.
Thompson, J. N. 2005. The Geographic Mosaic of Coevolution. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA.
Turnbull, C. L., A. J. Beattie, and F. M. Hanzawa. 1983. Seed dispersal by ants in the Rocky Mountains. The Southwestern Naturalist 28:289-293.
Waser, N. M., and M. V. Price. 1984. Experimental studies of pollen carryover: effects of floral variability in Ipomopsis aggregata. Oecologia 62:262-268.
Yamagishi, H., T. D. Allison, and M. Ohara. 2005. Effect of snowmelt timing on the genetic structure of an Erythronium grandiflorum population in an alpine environment. Ecological Research 20:199-204.
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| Publications of Jessica Forrest :: | Click here |
| Metadata of Jessica Forrest : | Click here |
| CV (if any): : | CVs are withheld from public view by Lab policy. |
| Extra Information / Notes:: | There are is no extra information for this plan supplied by the author. |
