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NSCI 487 (Ecological Internship)

NSCI 487 (Ecological Internship). Mentor: Ruth Hufbauer Working on the reproductive ecology of Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein) in its native and introduced range By: Tanner Bonham. Introduction Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein). Biology Biennial Mature plants grow up to 7 feet

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NSCI 487 (Ecological Internship)

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  1. NSCI 487(Ecological Internship) Mentor: Ruth Hufbauer Working on the reproductive ecology of Verbascumthapsus (Common Mullein) in its native and introduced range By: Tanner Bonham

  2. IntroductionVerbascumthapsus(Common Mullein) • Biology • Biennial • Mature plants grow up to 7 feet • Flower: many in a dense spike • (opens for 24hrs) • Native Range • Dry, stony hillsides, wasteland and open woodland • Europe, Africa and West/Central Asia

  3. Background • Introduction • U.S. mid-1700’s by Puritans • Used as a fish poison in Virginia • Thought to be used as a medicinal herb • Coughs • Diarrhea • Invasive • Numerous seeds (100,000-180,000) per plant • Long dominant period (up to 100 years?) • Noxious “C” listed in Colorado

  4. Introduced Range in U.S. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=veth

  5. Common Mullein Along the Front Range Our county data are based primarily on the literature, herbarium specimens, and confirmed observations. Not all populations have been documented, only native and naturalized populations are mapped. http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Colorado&statefips=08&symbol=VETH

  6. Ecological Impact • Threatens natural meadows and forest openings • Easily adaptable to these areas • Grows more vigorous then native plants • Covers large area (big biomass) • Fire species • Takes over after a fire • Numerous seeds that may lay dominant for years • Very resilient species • Very hard to eradicate!

  7. Project • Hypothesis #1 • Native populations are set in a specific ecological niche and are locally adapted. • performance decrease as distance increases when individuals from different populations are crossed. • Increased distance between populations will cause offspring to have a lower fitness than the progeny from crosses with individuals in the same population • outbreeding depression in native range?

  8. Procedure: distance between outcrossing populations related to progeny performance • 6:00am remove stamen from Receptor plant • To ensure it wont self-pollinate • 12:00pm remove stamen off Donor plant and pollinate Receptor plant • Cover flower and wait for seeds to grow • Test in native and introduced range • Evaluate results

  9. "Population Admixture, Biological Invasions and the Balance between Local Adaptation and Inbreeding Depression." S. Latifolia(broadleaf arrowhead, duck potato or Indian potato) Verhoeven, Koen J.F., MirkaMacel, Lorne M. Wolfe, and ArjenBiere.

  10. Project (contd.) • Hypothesis #2 • With respect to inbreeding: • Introductions select for the ability to self-pollinate when mates are limited in small founding populations. • Self-pollination in the introduced range will yield a higher performance than self-pollination in the native range. • Inbreeding depression in native population?

  11. Procedure: self-pollination succession in its native and introduced range • No-manipulation flower • Cover flower so it must self-pollinate • Outcross within its population • Genetically different • Measure difference between self-pollinated and outcrossed plants • Compare data between native and introduced range

  12. Theoretical Model • Compare between native and introduced range • Difference in #seeds of selfand outcrossed plants # Of Seeds

  13. My Role • Dig plants out of mulch and snow • Vernalization • Move into greenhouse • Initiate flowering

  14. My Role (contd.) • Arrange plants • spatially & numerically • Water/Fertilize • Facilitate growth

  15. Coming to an End • Research continues… • Continue procedures • Acquire data • Discuses results • Theorize • What I learned • Lab work • Applied Research • Experiment Procedures • Invasions • Reproductive ecology

  16. Works Cited • Brickell, C. and J.D. Zuk. 1997. The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. DK Publishing, Inc., NY. • http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Verbascum+thapsus&guide=Wildflowers&cl=US/NC/Jackson/Balsam_Mountain_Preserve • http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/gorge/5petal/figwort/verbascum/commonmullein.htm • Rambuda TD, Johnson SD (2004) Breeding systems of invasive alien plants in South Africa: does Baker’s rule apply? Diversity and Distributions, 10, 409–416. • Eckert CG, Samis KE, Dart S (2006) Reproductive assurance and the evolution of uniparental reproduction in flowering plants. In: Ecology and Evolution of Flowers (eds Harder LD, Barrett SCH), pp. 183–203. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. • Keller, L. F. & Waller, D. M. 2002 Inbreeding effects in wild populations. Trends Ecol. Evol. 17, 230–241. (doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02489-8) • Verhoeven, Koen J.F., MirkaMacel, Lorne M. Wolfe, and ArjenBiere. "Population Admixture, Biological Invasions and the Balance between Local Adaptation and Inbreeding Depression." Proceedings of The Royal Society (2010). Print. • Remaley, Tom. "FACT SHEET: COMMON MULLEIN." Plant Conservation Alliance®s Alien Plant Working Group, 20 May 2005. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/. • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AmCyc_Mullein_-_Common_Mullein.jpg

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