LTREB Renewal: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: The Interplay of Genetic and Numerical Dynamics in Severely Fragmented Prairie Populations of Echinacea angustifolia

该项目研究了草原植物残余种群中人口学和遗传学的相互作用，作为一个模型，以加深对这些相互作用在进化变化和不断变化和破碎的栖息地中种群持续存在中的作用的理解。狭叶紫锥菊（Echinacea angustifolia）是一种长寿的多年生植物，曾经在美国的平原和草原上盛产，但随着土地大规模转变为农业，现在仅限于草原的一小部分残余物。狭叶桉种群的遗传组成影响其人口统计学，进而影响遗传学和生态学的进化变化。这些反馈对于植物的持久性和持续进化至关重要。该项目将继续对明尼苏达州 6400 公顷区域内的狭叶桉的所有生命阶段进行年度普查，并将通过三个实验监测植物，这些实验旨在 1）揭示残余种群之间在健康、生存和个体繁殖方面的差异，2）显示残余种群之间的近亲繁殖和基因流动如何影响后代的健康度，以及 3）评估分散种群适应持续环境变化的潜力。该项目正在阐明进化和生态过程的相互作用，以提高对不断变化的环境条件下的持久性和适应的理解。该项目的结果为分散栖息地中长寿本土植物的保护和管理提供了信息，并为分析其他种群的人口统计和遗传过程提供了工具。

This project investigates the interactions of demography and genetics in remnant populations of a prairie plant that serves as a model for advancing understanding of the roles of these interactions in evolutionary change and persistence of populations in changing and fragmented habitats. Echinacea angustifolia, a long-lived perennial plant, was once abundant in the plains and prairies of the United States but now is confined to small remnants of prairie following extensive conversion of land to agriculture. Genetic composition of E. angustifolia populations affects their demography, which in turn influences evolutionary change in genetics and ecology. These feedbacks are critical to the persistence and ongoing evolution of the plant. This project will continue annual censuses of all life stages of E. angustifolia within a 6400 hectare area in Minnesota and will monitor plants in three experiments that are designed to 1) reveal divergence among remnant populations in health, survival, and reproduction of individuals, 2) show how inbreeding and gene flow between remnants affect progeny fitness, and 3) assess the potential of fragmented populations to adapt to ongoing environmental change. This project is elucidating the interplay of evolutionary and ecological processes to improve understanding of persistence and adaptation in changing environmental conditions. Results from this project inform the conservation and management of long-lived native plants in fragmented habitat and provide tools for analyzing demographic and genetic processes in other populations.