CAREER: Reconciling Patterns of Phylogenetic Rate Heterogenity in Ferns with Morphology, Ecology, and Life History

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0347840Pryer Nearly co-equal in geographic extent with the dominant flowering plants of the world are the ferns, the second largest group of vascular plants, with an estimated 12,000 or so living species. Dr. Kathleen Pryer at Duke University continues a productive program of molecular and morphological studies of ferns, one aim being the construction of a framework phylogeny for all the families of ferns, integrated where possible with fossil forms and with estimated dates of divergence and diversification determined from mutation rates and fossil evidence. Primary new data will be acquired from DNA sequencing of genes from all three genomic compartments: nucleus, mitochondria, and chloroplasts; these new data are to be integrated with morphological characters to improve fern classification systems, and to evaluate patterns of species diversity in different lineages of ferns. Different rates of molecular evolution will be explored in such groups as the tropical filmy ferns, pteridoid ferns, and tree ferns, with efforts to relate molecular-rate differences to aspects of habitat and life history. Productive collaborations will continue with specialists in fern taxonomy, morphology, and fossils, both in the U.S. and abroad. Research will be conjoined with educational and outreach activities, on campus, in the local school community, and abroad including through the OTS, Organization for Tropical Studies consortium operating in Costa Rica. Prof. Pryer teaches general courses in plant biology and "plants in the news" for non-majors, works with Durham-area middle and high school teachers in summer "reach out" workshops, and participates in the tropical courses conducted annually in Costa Rica to introduce undergraduate and graduate students to tropical plant diversity.