Collaborative Research: ARTS: Diversification in the Perennial Endemic North American (PENA) clade of Apiaceae: Defining genera and species in a major western North American radiat

Aldo Leopold (1953) is often cited as saying 'To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering' in reference to conservation. However, you first have to know what the cogs and wheels are. The Perennial Endemic North American (PENA) clade of Apiaceae is a group of ~200 species primarily from the western USA, representing one of the largest plant groups in North America. Diverse groups such as PENA complicate understanding where species boundaries are best drawn and limit implementing good conservation practices. The proposed work will utilize molecular, ecological, morphological, and climatic data to clarify the taxonomy and relationships of species within the clade and provide a revised and updated classification for this group. Web-based electronic publications that include interactive keys, as well as species pages with descriptions, images, distribution maps, and links to specimen data, will be developed. Because this study focuses on a large, diverse plant group in North America, it provides a wide range of prospects for scientific outreach and training across a broad cross section of target audiences. Students of all levels will be involved in this project. Underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students (particularly of Native American and Hispanic heritage) will be recruited to take part in field and laboratory work. Field studies in Idaho will be organized for K-12 students and their teachers, introducing them to the taxonomy, evolution, and ethnobotany of these plants. Lastly, the identification tools and species-specific environmental and ecological data generated will aid in the conservation of the many rare species found within this group.

Research at broad scales has wide-ranging implications, and with this in mind, we propose to use a large, broadly distributed clade of plants, the PENA clade, to relate phenotype, ecology, geography, and climate to delimit species. Despite its size and importance in the western flora, the evolution of this group is poorly understood, a fact reflected in the artificiality of its genera. This project will develop molecular-phylogenetic hypotheses of the PENA clade using comprehensive sampling of all known species and infraspecific taxa to serve as a framework to test specific hypotheses on species delimitation and relationships congruent with morphology, ecology, geography, and climate or a combination. It will provide a revised taxonomy for the entire PENA clade and disseminate this information online in the form of electronic monographs to support effective biodiversity management and stimulate further scientific inquiry. Although the primary goal of this project is to better delimit the taxonomy and species boundaries of the PENA clade, the completion of this work will allow future studies to investigate patterns and processes of speciation, ecological interactions, community assembly and provide a greater understanding for the diversification of western North American Flora as well as the Biota that rely on that flora.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.