Collaborative Research: Local Adaptation in a Dominant Arctic Tundra Sedge (Eriophorum Vaginatum) and its Effects on Ecosystem Response in a Changing Climate

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Title: Local adaptation in a dominant arctic tundra sedge (Eriophorum vaginatum) and its effects on ecosystem response in a changing climateEriophorum vaginatum is presently a dominant component of moist tussock tundra, but is susceptible to competition from more rapidly growing deciduous shrubs under warming conditions. The project has three objectives: 1) to investigate the genetic factors that lead to local adaptation in E. vaginatum; 2) to examine natural disturbance as a mechanism for genotypes from warmer climates to establish in tussock tundra of northern regions; and 3) to test the hypothesis that local adaptation and adaptational lag will have important consequences for plant phenology, photosynthesis, primary productivity, plant growth, and nutrient cycling. The findings of this project may serve as an indicator of the potential effects of adaptational lag on plant responses to climate change. Research results will be integrated into the manual for the International Tundra Experiment, which has been a developing resource for long term Arctic research. The project directly involves undergraduate research experience for students at Wilkes, a largely undergraduate university, and University of Texas at El Paso, a minority serving institution. Marine Biological Laboratory also will involve students in the research directly through their Semester in Environmental Sciences program, which will involve students in analyzing data taken directly from the Arctic project. K-12 students in Wilkes-Barre will be involved in Arctic research by studying plants shipped from Alaska. K-12 students in El Paso will be exposed to Arctic research through already established programs that engage graduate students with high school students through presentations of research results.The proposed research will use approaches from molecular ecology and population biology to investigate the causes of local adaptation in Eriophorum vaginatum. It will use methods of ecosystem ecology to investigate the consequences of local adaptation for the response of E. vaginatum to a rapidly warming climate. Genetic markers will be used to determine patterns of genetic diversity and gene flow for populations of E. vaginatum in northern Alaska. Uncovering the underlying genetic structure and population genetic dynamics will provide important insight into the ability for E. vaginatum to adapt to a changing climate. A recent burn site will be seeded with E. vaginatum from different populations with measures of seedling establishment and health followed by identifying genotype success utilizing molecular markers. The processes will be measured in gardens that include both transplants and plants exposed to warming with open-top chambers to simulate the combined effects of northward migration of southern ecotypes and climate warming.