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留种群中的人口学和遗传学的相互作用，作为促进对这些相互作用在进化变化和种群在不断变化和支离破碎的生境中的持久性所起作用的理解的模型。紫锥菊是一种多年生植物，曾在美国平原和草原上大量生长，但在大规模退耕后，现在仅限于草原上的小块残留物。狭叶沙枣种群的遗传组成影响其人口学特征，进而影响遗传学和生态学的进化变化。这些反馈对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公顷面积内的狭叶锦鸡儿所有生命阶段进行年度普查，并将通过三个实验对植物进行监测，这些实验旨在1)揭示残留种群之间在健康、生存和繁殖方面的差异，2)展示近亲繁殖和残留种群之间的基因流动如何影响后代适应能力，以及3)评估碎片化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，以提高对环境条件变化中的持久性和适应性的理解。该项目的结果为保护和管理零散生境中的长寿本土植物提供了信息，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.