Silene
Project (long term collaboration with Charlie Fenster)
Mountain
Lake
Biological Station
I am involved in an ongoing collaboration
with Dr. Charles Fenster on a long-term field study to address the
evolution of
and degree of specialization between the animal visitors to three
related
species of Silene that differ in their
floral design and
reward system. Silene virginica has red tubular flowers
that are
primarily hummingbird pollinated. S. virginica’s two closest sister
taxa are Silene
stellata, which has white bowl flowers that are initially receptive
at
night and are first visited by noctuid moths and by bumble bees during
the day.
Silene caroliniana appears to be visited primarily during the
day and
clearwing hawkmoths and Bombus are some of the common visitors.
We are
examining the role of pollinators as selective agents utilizing three
approaches. First, we are estimating pollinator importance in terms of
both
male and female function. Second, we are conducting cohort phenotypic
selection
studies across years for both S. virginica and S.
caroliniana.
Third, we are conducting a series of single and multi-trait floral
phenotypic
manipulations for each of the three Silene
species. Thus we hope to provide a deeper understanding of the validity
of the
pollination syndrome concept as well as the selective processes
responsible for
the origin and maintenance of floral traits in the three divergent, yet
closely
related species of Silene. This
work also addresses the importance
of maintaining habitat to allow critical associations between plant
species and
their pollinators to help preserve species biodiversity.
REU
Students and Richard Reynolds (Graduate Student on this project)
Peter Stevens, George Cheely
Jody Westbrook
Jeremy
Ash
and Richard Reynolds
Arrays of artificial flowers for
pollinator observations
Woodland Field site Mt.
Lake
Power Cut Field Site Mt. Lake
Great Falls MD Field Site
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