US-Mexico Planning Visits: A New Collaboration to Develop an Ontogenetically Explicit Framework for the Multi-Functionality of Plant Defense Traits

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This project addresses a fundamental question in plant biology, how plants deal with environmental stresses, by comparing differing ecological habitats of Hawaii and Mexico. The research focuses on the ecology and physiology of prickly poppy, genus Argemone, which is found in both regions. The project leverages complementary expertise between U.S. and Mexican researchers and provides unique training opportunities to U.S. students from underrepresented groups. U.S. students and researchers will travel to Mexico to join an international collaborative team and gain experience in plant functional trait analysis, herbarium research, and preliminary field data collection. While most defense traits in plants are multi-functional the majority of studies have examined one or few plant traits at a time. Prickly poppies display a suite of functional traits (e.g. prickles, latex exudation, tough leaves) that make them a compelling case study for this research. This broad approach to investigate multiple plant traits and their multi-functionality within an ontogenetic context will provide a more holistic understanding of how plants deal with environmental stresses. Furthermore this research will uncover synergies, redundancies and developmental constraints in plant functional traits and thereby further understanding of plant biology.