DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of frailejones (subtribe Espeletiinae, Asteraceae) of the tropical Andes of South America

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The high elevation grassland ecosystem of the Northern Andes, known as páramo, is the most diverse ecosystem of the high elevations of the world, and is an ideal system to understand how species arise and adapt. The goal of this project is to understand the mechanisms of speciation in the páramos and to explore the impacts of climate change on the geographic distribution of species. This will be accomplished using molecular techniques combined with geographic information systems for a dramatic radiation of 140 species of frailejones (plants related to sunflowers) of the páramos, which provide a potential model system for investigating these phenomena. Results from this project will enable a better understanding of rapid speciation processes as well as possible outcomes under different scenarios of climate change. This knowledge will inform conservation and management decisions for the South American páramos and policy development by local authorities. The project will develop tools and methodologies that can be applied in other endangered habitats and species. A public website will be developed and a key to species will also be available on DVD. The project will strengthen multinational collaborations and will train undergraduates at the home institution as well as several visiting researchers.