Collaborative Research: The Impacts of Arctic and Alpine Refugia on Genetic Divergence in Tundra Flora

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Researchers at Western Washington University and Harvard University were funded to employ molecular biological methods to assess the impact of climates changes on plant evolution over the past 2 million years. Patterns of genetic divergence will be elucidated for Arctic and alpine tundra plants with the expectation that those habitats provided fundamentally different refuges during ice ages. The former likely preserved genetic variation in large populations, while periodic fragmentation of the latter would have lead to loss of variation. Plant specimens will be collected from 18 Arctic and alpine locations in Siberia, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rocky Mountains. Climatic influence on plant divergence will be investigated by comparison of gene trees developed for Arctic and alpine tundra species. The results will have applications in studies of the climate, geology, zoology, and Anthropology of Beringea. The project will impact undergraduate and graduate students; K-12 school teachers, and local plant enthusiasts.