Current Events

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Dr. Diana Jolles

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences
Director, Plymouth State University Herbarium
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, NH

"Genetic Diversity and Phyloecology of the Western North American Pyrola picta Species Complex (Ericaceae)"

Mark your calendar for the next NEBC Meeting on December 7, 2018 at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA with lecture by Dr. Diana Jolles.

Abstract: Species in the Pyrola picta complex have broadly overlapping ranges along montane corridors from western Canada to Mexico and in some regions can be found in close sympatry. Using geographical and climatic affinity for phylogenetic ancestral state/area estimation under multiple dispersal and vicariance models, I investigated the environmental conditions under which these species likely evolved. Initial estimates suggest that the P. picta species complex originated in the Sierra Nevada of California and that subsequent speciation was associated with dispersal to distinct geographical locations and ecological settings within the present-day, collective range. The present-day distribution is likely the result of secondary contact caused by climatic shifts and subsequent range expansion. Among other things, this study highlights the importance of specimen annotation for studying species' geographic range characteristics.

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