DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Patterns of Intraspecific Genetic Variation In Cordyline Fruticosa and the Basis for Male Sterility with Implications for Archaeoethnobotony in Polynesia

太平洋岛屿是地球上最后一批被人类殖民的地区。 在波利尼西亚，主要的考古问题仍然是对岛屿进行殖民航行的时间和顺序。本研究以从波利尼西亚引进的植物紫堇Cordyline fruticosa（L.）切弗，更好地称为夏威夷“ti”植物，作为研究波利尼西亚史前事件的代理。 将对来自整个波利尼西亚地区的ti植物种群进行遗传变异模式的筛选。这些信息将用于帮助重建波利尼西亚人民可能的殖民化情景。形态和生殖的差异，在整个波利尼西亚的ti植物的特点是探索的可能性，不育ti植物选择性有利，因为他们的根茎食物的使用。这项研究通过将植物学和遗传学方法应用于生物和文化历史的综合研究而跨越学科。这些数据与其他遗传学和语言学研究相比，将有助于更准确地了解该地区人类殖民化的模式。结果将是感兴趣的波利尼西亚土著人民，植物学家，考古学家和园艺家谁种植这种植物作为观赏。

The islands of the Pacific Ocean are some of the last areas on Earth to have been colonized by humans. In Polynesia, major archaeological questions remain as to the timing and order of colonizing voyages to the islands. This study uses the Polynesian-introduced plant Cordyline fruticosa (L.) Chev., better known as the Hawaiian "ti" plant, as a proxy for the study of events in Polynesian prehistory. Populations of ti plants from the entire Polynesian region will be screened for patterns of genetic variation. This information will be used to help reconstruct likely colonization scenarios of the Polynesian peoples. Morphological and reproductive differences in ti plants across Polynesia will be characterized to explore the possibility that sterile ti plants were selectively favorable because of the use of their rhizomes for food. This research cuts across disciplines by applying botanical and genetic methods to an integrated study of biological and cultural history. These data, when compared with other genetic and linguistic studies, will help to build a more precise picture of patterns of human colonization in the region. Results will be of interest to indigenous peoples of Polynesia, botanists, archaeologists, and horticulturists who grow this plant as an ornamental.