Dissertation Research: Investigating Phylogeny, Reticulate Evolution, and Gene Tree Discordance in New World Dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae)

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Ferns are the second largest group of vascular plants on earth, and are the sister group of the diverse and economically important seed plants. This project will be one of the first to produce a family tree for a widespread fern genus, and will employ that tree to investigate a number of critical questions about how evolution has proceeded in this important but understudied group of plants. The current study will use DNA sequence data to test several hypotheses regarding species relationships, biogeography, and the roles of hybridization and genome doubling (polyploidy) in shaping the history of the North American species of woodferns (Dryopteris). Dryopteris is a species-rich, morphologically diverse, biogeographically widespread, and beautiful genus, and the North American members have long been thought to reflect a complex history of reticulate (non-branching) speciation.This project will facilitate international collaboration and will result in the training of a female PhD student as well as undergraduate students that she will mentor. All data and results will be disseminated widely, to the scientific community via online databases, in publications and talks, to the public via outreach presentations, via a fern weblog, and to middle and high school students through the Botanical Society of America's PlantingScience program.