"Paleoecology of alpine tundra and high elevation plant communities, refugia and landscapes of British Columbia"

地质、植物学和DNA证据表明，不列颠哥伦比亚省的部分地区可能躲过了最后一次冰期，这是北美生物地理的一个关键特征。这一提议验证了一个假设，即今天的高海拔物种、高山植物群落和景观在该地区的最后一次冰川高峰期间持续存在，并产生了现代高山和亚高山植物群和生态系统。该项目将利用花粉和孢子，以及对湖芯沉积物的其他古生态分析，以及最近发现的地质暴露，来追溯南温哥华岛和不列颠哥伦比亚省中北部奥米内卡山脉最寒冷时期的植物和生态系统的历史。沉积序列将通过放射性碳测年和光学测年确定年代。此外，来自土壤层的样品的反射红外到可见光光谱将与过去寒冷气候的残余地貌指标结合使用，以区分最近冰盖覆盖的陆地表面与更遥远时期的冰川覆盖的陆地表面。研究结果将揭示现代高海拔生态系统的起源和历史，以及它们对气候变化的敏感性。它们将有助于解释现代植物物种的分布及其在北美西部的遗传类型，以及它们与白令陆桥和亚洲的关系。它们将有助于我们了解更新世晚期人类和动物迁徙到北美是否存在障碍。该项目将有助于开发区分不同年龄的近期冰川形成的景观的方法。

Geological, botanical and DNA evidence indicate that parts of British Columbia may have escaped the last glaciation, a key feature of the biogeography of North America. This proposal tests the hypothesis that today's high elevation species, alpine plant communities and landscapes persisted through the last glacial maximum in the region and gave rise to modern alpine and sub-alpine flora and ecosystems. The project will use pollen and spore and other paleoecological analyses of sediments from lake cores and recently discovered geological exposures to trace the history of plants and ecosystems through the interval of maximum cold on south Vancouver Island and in the Omineca Mountains of north central British Columbia. Sedimentary sequences will be dated by radiocarbon and optical dating. In addition the reflected infrared to visible light spectrum of samples from soil horizons will be used in combination with remnant landform indicators of past frigid climates to differentiate land surfaces covered by the most recent ice sheet from those glaciated in a more distant time. The results will shed light on the origin and history of modern high altitude ecosystems and their sensitivity to climate change. They will help explain the distribution of modern plant species and their genetic types in western North America and their relationships to Beringia and Asia. They will provide insight in to whether or not there was a barrier to human and animal migrations into North America late in the Pleistocene Epoch. The project will help develop methods for distinguishing landscapes arising from recent glaciations of different ages.