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"Plant Diversity Shows its True Colors."
Dr. José Eduardo Meireles
November 5, 2022
Location: Harvard University, Haller Lecture Hall (Room 102)
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"Wild Seed Project: Grassroots Seed Propagation of New England Native Plants"
Heather McCargo
December 3, 2022
Location: Harvard University, Haller Lecture Hall (Room 102)
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Dr. José Eduardo Meireles

Assistant Professor of Plant Evolution and Systematics
School of Biology and Ecology
University of Maine, Orono, ME

"Plant Diversity Shows its True Colors"

Mark your calendar for the next NEBC Meeting on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 7pm ET at Harvard University in Haller Lecture Hall (Room 102), Geological Museum, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (door to right of Harvard Museum of Natural History entrance)

Abstract: There is an urgent need to understand the phylogenetic and functional dimensions of plant diversity at global scales. Reflectance spectral data — how leaves reflect light across different wavelengths — is emerging as a phenomenal tool for characterizing plant traits and physiology as well as identifying lineages at different evolutionary scales. We will discuss applications of spectral data in plant biodiversity science, including monitoring biodiversity, estimating traits, and identifying lineages using spectral data. I will also demonstrate how to integrate phylogenetic models and spectra as well as leverage herbarium specimens to rapidly advance our knowledge of phenotypic evolution in plants.