Life Sciences Commons^™

First Report Of Yellow-Flowered Teasel, Dipsacus Strigosus Willd. Ex Roem. & Schult. (Dipsacaceae) In Indiana, A North American Record, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This paper reports the presence of Dipsacus strigosus Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. in Indiana. The species, native to western Asia, is naturalized in several locations in Europe. This is the first documented occurrence in North America. The new record was collected along a recently constructed bike path in a moist wooded area of the Butler University campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Like the two other species of the genus known in the Indiana, D. strigosus is likely to be invasive, so efforts will be made to eradicate this population. The plant should be monitored and looked for in other …

Floristic Response To Urbanization: Filtering Of The Bioregional Flora In Indianapolis, Indiana, Usa, Rebecca W. Dolan, Myla F.J. Aronson, Andrew L. Hipp

Biological Sciences

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Globally, urban plant populations are becoming increasingly important, as these plants play a vital role in ameliorating effects of ecosystem disturbance and climate change. Urban environments act as filters to bioregional flora, presenting survival challenges to spontaneous plants. Yet, because of the paucity of inventory data on plants in landscapes both before and after urbanization, few studies have directly investigated this effect of urbanization.

METHODS: We used historical, contemporary, and regional plant species inventories for Indianapolis, Indiana USA to evaluate how urbanization filters the bioregional flora based on species diversity, functional traits, and phylogenetic community structure. …

Floristic Inventory Of Woollen’S Gardens Nature Preserve, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, Usa, With Quantitative Vegetation Sampling Of Permanent Plots In 2003 And 2016, Rebecca W. Dolan, Marcia E. Moore

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Urban forest fragments face challenges to habitat quality due to small size, isolation from larger natural areas, and close association with anthropogenic disturbance. Monitoring changes in vegetation can inform management practices targeted at preserving biodiversity in the face of these threats. Woollen’s Gardens is a high-quality mesic upland forest preserve in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, with a beechmaple older-growth forest and a significant display of showy spring wildflowers. The entire preserve was inventoried and quantitative vegetation analysis along seven 100 m transects was conducted in 2003 and again in 2016 to track changes. Data from both years document …

Featured Herbarium: But—The Friesner Herbarium Of Butler University, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Feature written by Rebecca Dolan on the BUT—The Friesner Herbarium of Butler University in the Vasculum.

Invasive Species In An Urban Flora: History And Current Status In Indianapolis, Indiana, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Invasive plant species are widely appreciated to cause significant ecologic and economic damage in agricultural fields and in natural areas. The presence and impact of invasives in cities is less well documented. This paper characterizes invasive plants in Indianapolis, Indiana. Based on historical records and contemporary accounts, 69 of the 120 species on the official Indiana state list are reported for the city. Most of these plants are native to Asia or Eurasia, with escape from cultivation as the most common mode of introduction. Most have been in the flora of Indianapolis for some time. Eighty percent of Indianapolis’ invasive …

Two Hundred Years Of Forest Change: Effects Of Urbanization On Tree Species Composition And Structure, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Despite their importance, the dynamics of urban floras are not well understood and quantitative historical data are rare. The current study used three data sets for trees in Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana, U.S., to document change over 200 years to the original beech-maple forest and to examine future implications of contemporary tree planting efforts in light of these changes. Data on tree composition and size collected before significant settlement in the early 1800s are compared with recent surveys of trees in remnant natural areas and with trees found on city streets and rights-of-way. All the species recorded in historical surveys are …

Changes In Plant Species Composition And Structure In Two Peri-Urban Nature Preserves Over 10 Years, Rebecca W. Dolan, Jessica D. Stepens, Marcia E. Moore

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Peri-urban natural areas, at the boundaries of cities and adjacent agricultural/rural land, are subject to ecological threats endemic to both land use types. We used permanent plots to document changes in habitat quality by monitoring herbaceous-layer plant species presence and cover over a decade (1996/97 and 2007) in two peri-urban nature preserves in central Indiana, U.S.A. The preserves are comprised of different forest community types: wet-mesic depressional forest and mesic upland forest. Habitat characteristics, based on Floristic Quality Assessment parameters, showed only a single change for either preserve between survey years: wetness values were lower in the wet-mesic depressional site …

A Global Analysis Of The Impacts Of Urbanization On Bird And Plant Diversity Reveals Key Anthropogenic Drivers, Myla F.J. Aronson, Frank A. La Sorte, Charles H. Nilon, Madhusudan Katti, Mark A. Goddard, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Paige S. Warren, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Sarel Cilliers, Bruce Clarkson, Cynnamon Dobbs, Rebecca W. Dolan, Marcus Hedblom, Stefan Klotz, Jip Louwe Kooijmans, Ingolf Kühn, Ian Macgregor-Fors, Mark Mcdonnell, Ulla Mörtberg, Petr Pyšek, Stefan Siebert, Jessica Sushinsky, Peter Werner, Marten Winter

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Urbanization contributes to the loss of the world's biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. However, comparative studies of urban biodiversity leading to robust generalities of the status and drivers of biodiversity in cities at the global scale are lacking. Here, we compiled the largest global dataset to date of two diverse taxa in cities: birds (54 cities) and plants (110 cities). We found that the majority of urban bird and plant species are native in the world's cities. Few plants and birds are cosmopolitan, the most common beingColumba livia and Poa annua. The density of bird and …

Bacon's Swamp- Ghost Of A Central Indiana Natural Area Past, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Bacon’s Swamp was identified in the 1920s as a ca. 12 ha glacial kettle lake bog system at the southernmost limits of these habitats in Indiana. Located just 9.6 km from the center of Indianapolis, the site was all but destroyed in the mid-20th century by urban expansion. Prior to habitat conversion at the site, Bacon’s Swamp was a frequent location for Butler University ecology class field trips and student research projects. Herbarium specimens and published inventory records allow for analysis of the historical vegetation of Bacon’s Swamp using modern techniques. Floristic Quality Assessment applied to these historical records reveals …

Documenting Effects Of Urbanization On Flora Using Herbarium Records, Rebecca W. Dolan, Marcia E. Moore, Jessica Stephens

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

1. As human populations increasingly live in cities, urban floras and the ecosystem services they provide are under increasing threat. Understanding the effects of urbanization on plants can help to predict future changes and identify ways to preserve biological diversity. Relatively few studies document changes through time in the flora of a focal region and those that do primarily address European floras. They often rely on contemporary spatial gradient studies as surrogates for changes with time.

2. We compare historical species records (prior to 1940) with the current flora for Marion County, Indiana, USA, home to Indianapolis, the 13th largest city in …

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Biomechanical And Morphological Changes In Leaf Abscission Zones During The Ontogeny Of Kalanchoe Pinnatum, Jillian Hodge

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Kalanchoe pinnatum is able to asexually reproduce with the help of its leaves. In K. pinnatum, embryos are embedded in the notches of a leafs margin. Through the process of abscission, when the plant is disturbed a leaf with embryos falls to the ground and the embryos grow into new plants. Thus, as leaves mature, they face conflicting functional demands to stay on the plant and continue their role in photosynthesis or fall off the plant and asexually reproduce. To examine if there is a point in the leafs development where abscission occurs more readily, I examined breaking strength in …

An Examination Of The Correlation Between Shoot Apical Meristem Size And Leaf Heterophylly In Pisum Sativum, Cynthia Mary Halfman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study is a quantitative examination of the ramifications of leaf development as influenced by the size of the shoot apical meristem. I wish not to delve into a genetic examination of the shoot apical meristem but rather into the possible correlation between the apical meristem size and leaf heterophylly. If changes in shoot apical meristem size influence heterophylly in leaves, then as shoot apical meristem changes, leaf characteristics will change. This change may result from two different relationships.

Genetic Change Following Fire In Populations Of A Seed-Banking Perennial Plant, Rebecca W. Dolan, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Eric S. Menges

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Disturbances such as fire have the potential to remove genetic variation, but seed banks may counter this loss by restoring alleles through a reservoir effect. We used allozyme analysis to characterize genetic change in two populations of the perennial Hypericum cumulicola, an endemic of the fire-prone Florida scrub. We assessed genetic variation before and 1, 2, and 3 years after fire that killed nearly all aboveground plants. Populations increased in size following fire, with most seedlings likely recruited from a persistent seed bank. Four of five loci were variable. Most alleles were present in low frequencies, but our large sample …

Insertion Of The Enzyme Cyclopropane Fatty Acid Synthase Into Plastids Through Agrobacterium Mediated Transformation, Jason L. Rush

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Under natural conditions, Agrobacterium is a plant pathogen that infects plants by inserting genes into the plant's genome that are desirable to the bacterium itself. A tumor is then formed and the infected plant tissue makes molecules that the bacterium uses as food.

Investigation Of Kalanchoe Homeobox 1 (Kh1) Gene In Apical Meristems Of Kalanchoe Pinnatum, Jessica Lynn Kirkpatrick

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Kalanchoe pinnatum (syn. Bryophyllum pinnatum) is a succulent plant that is notable for developing small plantlets on the outer edges of its leaves, when its leaves are detached (Kulka 2006). These plantlets eventually drop off and root, which is a unique way for the plant to asexually reproduce. In most other plants, leaves exhibit determinate growth, meaning once they reach their maturity, they do not continue to grow.

A New Species Of Streptanthus (Brassicaceae) From Three Peaks In Lake County, California, Rebecca W. Dolan, Richard O'Donnell

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Streptanlhus vernalis is a newly described species inhabiting serpentine rock outcrops in the Three Peaks area in Lake County, California. Morphological and allozyme data indicate that this taxon is related to the S. morrisonii complex.

Population Genetic Structure In Nolina Brittoniana (Agavaceae), A Plant Endemic To The Central Ridges Of Florida, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Nolina brittoniana is endemic to the central ridges of peninsular Florida. Its scrub and sandhill habitats have suffered extensive anthropogenic modification. Analysis of isozymes from populations throughout its range revealed less genetic variation than generally reported for endemic plants. Populations were well differentiated, with significant clines in allele frequency along the north-south axis of distribution. Pair-wise F-statistics calculated at four levels of population geographic substructure revealed that current and inferred historical habitat patches had similar genetic structure. We found no evidence of recent bottlenecks or changes in genetic structure due to habitat loss and fragmentation, consistent with populations having always …

Genetic Diversity And Reproductive Biology In Warea Carteri (Brassicaceae), A Narrowly Endemic Florida Scrub Annual, Margaret E.K. Evans, Rebecca W. Dolan, Eric S. Menges, Doria R. Gordon

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Carter's mustard (Warea carteri) is an endangered, fire-stimulated annual endemic of the Lake Wales Ridge, Florida, USA. This species is characterized by seed banks and large fluctuations in plant numbers, with increases occurring in postdisturbance habitat. We investigated the mating system, patterns of isozyme variation, and effective population sizes of W. carteri to better understand its population biology and to comment on reserve designs and management proposals relevant to this species. Warea carteri is self-compatible and autogamous, and probably largely selfing. Measures of genetic variation in W. carteri were lower than values reported for species with similar ecological …

Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Habitat conversion and fire suppression during the last 50 yr have greatly reduced and altered Florida scrub vegetation, resulting in threats to the persistence of its unique flora. As part of a larger conservation project, we investigated patterns of isozyme variation in three rare perennial scrub plants with overlapping ranges endemic to Florida rosemary scrub on the Lake Wales Ridge. All three species have low levels of genetic variation, comparable to or lower than those generally reported for rare plants with restricted geographic ranges. Liatris ohlingerae has more than twice the expected heterozygosity of the other two species, with little …

The Rare, Serpentine Endemic Streptanthus Morrisonii (Brassicaceae) Species Complex, Revisited Using Isozyme Analysis, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The Streptanthus morrisonii (Brassicaceae) complex is a group of six narrowly-distributed obligate serpentine endemic taxa whose habitat is threatened by geothermal development. Isozyme analysis of this little-studied complex supports the delineation of two species, S. morrisonii and S. brachiatus, but is at odds with the treatment of two subspecies based on morphology. These results may be influenced by small sample sizes but genetic studies of other Streptanthus taxa have shown patterns of relatedness that often transgress subspecies boundaries based on morphology. The present study further shows that members of the S. morrisonii complex share high genetic identity values (mean …

The Royal Catchfly (Silene Regia; Caryophyllaceae) In Indiana, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Botanist Thomas Nuttall called the royal catchfly, Silene regia, "one of the most splendid species in existence." This red-flowered, hummingbird-pollinated member of the Caryophyllaceae is a perennial herb of prairies and glades. Because of the conversion of much of its former habitat to agriculture, the royal catchfly is considered threatened in Indiana. The species' historical and present-day distribution in the State, documenting the current status of all known locations, including population sizes and co-occurring species, are reported in this paper. Only 8 of the documented 23 historical locations still support the plant. No populations occur in dedicated nature preserves or …

Patterns Of Isozyme Variation In Relation To Population Size, Isolation, And Phytogeographic History In Royal Catchfly, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The distribution of genetic variation within and among plant populations is influenced by both contemporary and historical factors. I used isozyme analysis of band phenotypes to examine genetic structure in the rare prairie forb Silene regia. Relationships between current-day population size, isolation, and phenotypic variation were assessed for 18 populations in two regions with differing postglacial history. Western populations from unglaciated southern Missouri and Arkansas were more genetically diverse based on the Shannon-Weaver index (H) and a polymorphic index than were more eastern populations. These differences may be due to loss of variation with repeated founding of new populations in …

The Clute Holotypes And The Herbarium Of Willard Nelson Clute In The Friesner Herbarium Of Butler University, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The herbarium of Willard Nelson Clute is housed in the Friesner Herbarium (BUT). Clute, co-founder of the American Fern Society, was a staff member at Butler University in the 1920's and 30's. His collection of ferns and fern allies from the tum of the century is significant for its selected regional coverage and for type specimens of taxa described by Clute and other fern specialists of the day.

A Complete Index To The Butler University Botanical Studies, A Journal Of Original Research Published By Butler University 1929-1964, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

For 35 years, the Botany Department of Butler University published a journal of research conducted by Butler faculty, students. and other Indiana botanists. Many of the papers contain valuable historical studies. especially floristic surveys that document Indiana's vegetation in past decades. This article presents a complete index for the journal. arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Reprints of articles are still available.

Taxonomy Of Streptanthus Sect. Biennes, The Streptanthus Morrisonii Complex (Brassicaceae), Rebecca W. Dolan, Lawrence F. Lapre

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The Streptanthus morrisonii complex is a six-taxon group of closely related serpentine rock outcrop endemics from Lake, Napa, and Sonoma counties of California, USA. Two new subspecies (S. morrisonii subsp. kruckebergii and S. brachiatus subsp. hoffmanii) from Lake County, California, are described. The relationship of these taxa to others in the section is reviewed and descriptions and a key are provided.

The Effects Of Seed Size And Maternal Origin On The Distribution Of Individual Plant Size In Ludwigia Leptocarpa (Onagraceae), Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Seed size is normally distributed for many annual species, while mature plant size is frequently positively skewed. A study was conducted to determine the influence of seed size and the role of genetic differences in determining relative seedling size for Ludwigia leptocarpa. Seed size had a significant effect on percentage germination and time of seed germination but no effect on dry weight or leaf area of seedlings. Seed size and spacing had a significant effect on seedling dry weight for plants grown under competition, while relative day of emergence had no effect. Familial (genetic) differences were found in average seed …

Population Dynamics Of Ludwigia Leptocarpa (Onagraceae) And Some Factors Affecting Size Hierarchies In A Natural Population, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca R. Sharitz

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

1. Germination cohorts of Ludwigia leptocarpa, a semi-aquatic annual plant were marked in the field at time of establishment and followed through the 1981 and 1982 growing seasons at a site in southern South Carolina.

2. Data from each cohort were pooled to determine demographic characteristics of the population as a whole, then analyzed separately to determine the effect of time on germination on survivorship, relative growth rate, and adult size.

3. Changes in numbers of L. leptocarpa fit a Deevey Type II survivorship curve. This and other characteristics of the species classify it as ‘r-selected’. Aspects of the life history may reflect …

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