Collaborative Research: The Impacts of Arctic and Alpine Refugia on Genetic Divergence in Tundra Flora

西华盛顿大学和哈佛大学的研究人员得到资助，利用分子生物学方法评估过去200万年气候变化对植物进化的影响。将阐明北极和高山苔原植物的遗传分化模式，并期望这些栖息地在冰河时期提供根本不同的避难所。前者可能在大量种群中保存了遗传变异，而后者的周期性分裂可能导致变异的丧失。植物标本将从西伯利亚、阿拉斯加、太平洋西北部和落基山脉的18个北极和高山地区收集。气候对植物分化的影响将通过北极和高山冻土带物种基因树的比较来研究。研究结果将应用于白令陆桥的气候、地质、动物学和人类学研究。该项目将影响本科生和研究生；K-12学校的老师，以及当地的植物爱好者。

Researchers at Western Washington University and Harvard University were funded to employ molecular biological methods to assess the impact of climates changes on plant evolution over the past 2 million years. Patterns of genetic divergence will be elucidated for Arctic and alpine tundra plants with the expectation that those habitats provided fundamentally different refuges during ice ages. The former likely preserved genetic variation in large populations, while periodic fragmentation of the latter would have lead to loss of variation. Plant specimens will be collected from 18 Arctic and alpine locations in Siberia, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rocky Mountains. Climatic influence on plant divergence will be investigated by comparison of gene trees developed for Arctic and alpine tundra species. The results will have applications in studies of the climate, geology, zoology, and Anthropology of Beringea. The project will impact undergraduate and graduate students; K-12 school teachers, and local plant enthusiasts.