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The Ecology And Evolution Of Rare, Soil Specialist Astragalus Plants In The Arid Western U.S., Joseph M. Statwick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organisms that specialize in uncommon habitats are, by their very nature, inherently uncommon. Specialization has its advantages, namely reduced competition and predation, but it also incurs costs. Specialists often have small population sizes, narrow ranges, and fragmented habitat, all of which engender negative consequences on an evolutionary timescale. Herein, I examine benefits and costs of specialization in selenium-hyperaccumulating plants in the genus Astragalus (Fabaceae). These plants are disproportionately likely to be rare and of conservation concern. Thus, I optimized germination pretreatments for Astragalus species such that seed loss can be minimized during ex situ cultivation, and found that physical scarification …