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统计学和遗传学的相互作用，作为一个模型，以促进对这些相互作用在不断变化和破碎的栖息地中种群进化变化和持久性中的作用的理解。紫锥菊（Echinacea angustifolia）是一种寿命很长的多年生植物，曾经在美国的平原和大草原上大量生长，但现在由于土地大量转为农业，只局限于草原的一小块残余区域。小叶居群的遗传组成影响其人口结构，进而影响其遗传和生态的进化变化。这些反馈对植物的持久性和持续进化至关重要。该项目将继续在明尼苏达州6400公顷的区域内对所有生命阶段的E. angustifolia进行年度普查，并将在三个实验中监测植物，旨在1)揭示残余种群在健康、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适应性，3)评估碎片化种群适应持续环境变化的潜力。该项目阐明了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。该项目的研究结果为碎片化生境中长寿原生植物的保护和管理提供了参考，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.