Niche Conservatism, Functional Trait Evolution and the Diversification of the California Vernal Pool Flora

加州春水池是独特的生态群落，形成于草地的浅洼地。这些水池在冬季雨季充满了水，然后在夏季干涸。春天的池塘被各种各样的一年生植物占据，其中许多只在加利福尼亚发现，它们是濒临灭绝的仙女虾和虎蝾螈的栖息地。该项目将研究春水池植物的多样性和生态学，以了解这些独特的群落是如何在过去5-10万年的气候变化中出现的，并确定物种是如何划分春水池的环境的，例如，生活在较深和较浅的位置，允许许多物种共存。据估计，加州90%的原始温泉池已被城市化和农业破坏。这些威胁持续存在，加上全球气候变化影响的不确定性增加。本项目的研究结果将对温泉池的保护和修复工程具有直接的指导意义。在这个项目中获得的知识将通过网页、对公园和保护区讲解员的教育、以及一份针对负责土地使用规划和管理春水池综合设施的资源管理人员的养护白皮书，传播给公众。

California vernal pools are unique ecological communities that form in shallow depressions in grasslands. The pools fill with water during the winter rainy season, and then dry up in summer. Vernal pools are occupied by a diverse array of annual plant species, many of which are found exclusively in California, and they harbor endangered fairy shrimp and tiger salamanders. This project will study the diversity and ecology of vernal pool plants to understand how these unique communities arose in relation to changing climates over the past 5-10 million years, and to determine how the species partition the environment of the vernal pools, for example by living in deeper vs. shallower locations, allowing many species to coexist.It is estimated that 90% of the original vernal pools of California have been destroyed by urbanization and agriculture. These threats persist, together with the added uncertainty of the effects of global climate change. Results of this project will be of direct value for vernal pool conservation and restoration projects. Knowledge gained in this project will be disseminated to the public through web pages, education of docents at parks and reserves, and a conservation white paper aimed at resource managers responsible for land-use planning and management of vernal pool complexes.