The Role of Natural Selection in Plant Speciation: A Test of the Reinforcement Hypothesis in Clarkia

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One of the most difficult problems in biology is identifying the mechanisms causing individuals to differentiate leading to new species. One barrier to the formation of new species is subsequent hybridization of differentiated individuals. The goal of this study is to examine the processes in nature that contribute to barriers of hybridization, including both barriers that prevent hybrids from being formed (pre-mating isolation) and the causes of poor hybrid performance in the field (post-mating isolation). The work will be conducted on two closely-related plant taxa in the genus Clarkia that are in the very early stages of speciation, providing a unique opportunity to understand evolutionary processes in action that cause species formation. The proposed project uses large manipulative experiments in the field and the genotyping of DNA markers in the laboratory to examine hybridization and its consequences. This research provides important insight into the origin of earth's biodiversity, which is critical for understanding how species will respond to climate change and what will be required to conserve them. Much more is currently understood about the relationships (systematics) of species and how they differ at the genetic level than the ecological processes that caused them to diverge from one another. Finally, funding will be used to train post-doctoral and undergraduate scientists in both genetic and ecological research.