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

该项目研究了人口统计学和遗传学在草原植物残群中的相互作用，作为一种模型，用于促进对这些相互作用在不断变化和破碎的栖息地中的进化变化和种群持久性中的作用的理解。狭叶紫锥菊是一种长寿的多年生植物，曾经在美国的平原和大草原上很丰富，但现在仅限于大草原的小部分地区，因为土地被广泛地转换为农业。E.沙枣种群影响其人口统计学，这反过来又影响遗传学和生态学的进化变化。这些反馈对于植物的持续存在和持续进化至关重要。该项目将继续每年对所有生命阶段的E.在明尼苏达州的6400公顷的区域内的angustifolia，并将监测植物在三个实验，旨在1）揭示个体的健康，生存和繁殖的残余群体之间的分歧，2）显示如何近亲繁殖和残余物之间的基因流影响后代的健身，和3）评估分散的人口，以适应正在进行的环境变化的潜力。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性的理解。该项目的结果为在破碎的栖息地中保护和管理长寿的本土植物提供了信息，并为分析其他种群的人口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.