Life Sciences Commons^™

Compatibility Of Kura Clover And Cool Season Grass Mixtures In Michigan, P. Jeranyama, R. H. Leep, T. Dietz

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.) is an alternative forage legume for rotational grazing in cool-season grass mixtures. However, compatibility with cool-season grasses is unknown. Seven cool-season perennial grasses were seeded into Kura clover in a rotational grazing experiment. The objectives of this study were to evaluate botanical composition, forage yield and quality of binary mixtures of cool-season grass with Kura clover. Field studies were conducted on a Nester (fine sandy loam) soil at Lake City Experiment Station, Lake City, MI. Botanical compositions in the first year of the study heavily favored grasses (avg. 74%) and Kura clover accounted for …

Lepidopteran Granivory Reduces Seed Counts In A Rare Species Of Riparian Scour Prairies, Cheyenne Moore, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

In Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is found along only four waterways: the Allegheny River, Youghiogheny River, Clarion River, and Red Bank Creek. Because of its limited distribution and small number of extant populations, the species is considered state-threatened in Pennsylvania. In addition, the riparian prairie habitat that Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is restricted to is also in decline and considered vulnerable. Because of these conservation concerns, insights into the natural history of the taxon in the state is valuable and will inform conservation efforts. Field surveys and fruit collections along the Allegheny River and herbarium collections were used …

Investigation Into The Genetic Provenance Of Three Rare Plants With East-West Disjunction Patterns In Pennsylvania., Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine

Other Faculty Research and Publications

Rare plant conservation relies on an understanding of the natural history, biology and ecology, and real and potential threats to their populations to inform state regulations that serve to protect the species from extirpation. This work often involves extensive field surveys over several years to determine population sizes and whether those populations are seeing reductions in number of individuals necessary to maintain the genetic diversity within and between those populations. Species and populations with high genetic diversity are better equipped to withstand sudden changes to their habitats that derive from land use changes and changing climate. There are a variety …

Exploring Zosterophyll Relationships Within A More Broadly Sampled Character Space: A Focus On Anatomy, Megan Nibbelink

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Important constituents of Siluro-Devonian floras, zosterophylls gave rise to the lycophytes. I explore the relationships of 18 zosterophyll species from 16 genera, maximizing sampling of anatomy. Using phylogenetic and phenetic methods, I (1) assess the influence of tree rooting, taxon sampling, and morphological vs anatomical characters on the stability of relationships; and (2) compare phylogenetic and phenetic methods in terms of relationships recovered. Phenetic analyses show sensitivity to taxon sampling and support placement of Renalia among zosterophylls, but do not provide results that are strongly congruent with those of phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that taxon and character sampling significantly …

Patterns Of Genetic Divergence Across Geographically Variable Populations Of Xanthisma Gracile (Asteraceae), Lavanya Challagundla, Lisa E. Wallace

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Premise of research. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors can contribute to local selection and lead to geographic structure and genetic divergence between populations. The southwestern United States contains many distinctive plant communities, ranging from woodlands to desert scrub, that are shaped by species adapting to local variation in elevation, precipitation, seasonality, and soils. Given this variation, species occurring across diverse habitats are expected to harbor high genetic diversity and exhibit significant genetic differences associated with environmental variation.

Methodology. Here, we studied the genetic divergence of populations of Xanthisma gracile (Asteraceae) across Arizona using amplified fragment length polymorphisms and evaluated associations …