Dissertation Research: Trait evolution and speciation in Encelia

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This project examines how different species form and why some species are restricted to certain habitats and not others. While it is widely accepted that evolution by natural selection promotes adaptation to different environments over time, how exactly one species splits into two is highly controversial. This process, known as speciation, is the primary way Earth's diversity of life is formed. However, the mechanisms of speciation are in many ways mysterious. These investigations will use experimental hybridization of plants in the family Asteracea, along with detailed physiological measurements and field studies of hybrids and parental species growing in their natural habitats to determine how natural selection creates two species from one.The broader impacts of this project are severalfold. First, the PIs will continue to use research assistants from rural communities near field sites in remote regions of Mexico and the southwest United States. These communities traditionally have been underserved by the scientific infrastructure of both countries and contain high proportions of minorities underrepresented in science. Secondly, this project will contribute to general knowledge of the diversity of life and how it is formed. Concrete examples of questions these studies can assist in answering include: Should different populations be considered endangered species? Are populations within a species evolutionary significant units? What will happen in the future if evolutionary different populations are preserved? While these questions cannot be directly answered by this project, the information gained by these investigations will provide policy makers with the scientific data they need to make intelligent, informed decisions.