Dissertation Research: Phylogeny and Patterns of Differentiation in Quercus L. (Fagaceae)

研究生保罗·马诺斯利用形态特征、花粉特征、酶电泳和叶绿体DNA序列数据对美国西部橡树物种之间的进化关系进行了分析。橡树物种之间的杂交模糊了物种之间的界限，该项目通过研究美国西部的亲本物种对和海峡群岛上狭窄的成对杂交区域来解决这个问题。还将探索与壳斗科其他成员的更高级别的关系。所提出的分析将澄清我们对橡树分类的理解，并将为木本植物的形态和分子进化之间的关系提供新的见解。橡树有丰富的化石记录，拟议中的研究将为化石中记录的进化变化的意义提供新的线索。

Graduate student Paul Manos proposes an analysis of the evolutionary relationships among oak species in the western U.S. using morphological characters, pollen features, enzyme electrophoresis, and chloroplast DNA sequence data. Hybridization among oak species has obscured the delimitation among species, and this project addresses the problem by studying pairs of parental species in the western U.S. and narrow pair-wise hybrid zones on the Channel Islands. Higher-level relationships with other members of the family Fagaceae will also be explored. The proposed analysis will clarify our understanding of oak classification, and will provide new insight into relationship between morphological and molecular evolution in woody plants. Oaks have a rich fossil record, and the proposed research will shed new light on the significance of evolutionary changes recorded in fossils.