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Abstract Detail



Recent Topics Posters

Bard, Nicholas [1], Westergaard, Kristine Bakke  [2], Bruederle, Leo P.  [1].

Soil niche differentiation among populations of Carex scirpoidea (Cyperaceae).

Edaphic endemism, wherein organisms are adapted and restricted to soils with unique physical and chemical properties, has resulted in high levels of plant diversity. Carex section Scirpinae (Cyperaceae) contains several taxa considered to be edaphic endemics. Carex scirpoidea Michx. subsp. convoluta (Kük.) D. A. Dunlop has the most restricted range in the section, being a rare habitat specialist comprised of small populations occupying alvar (thin soil layer atop limestone or dolostone bedrock) and fens (endogenously fed wetlands) in the Upper Lake Huron region of the Great Lakes. Conversely, C. scirpoidea subsp. scirpoidea has a wide distribution, spanning boreal and alpine habitats from East Russia across north North America and Greenland, to Norway. The taxon inhabits a variety of different dry to moist soil types, including calcareous, serpentine, and granodiorite soils. The goal of the study was to describe the edaphic niche of ‘scirpoidea’ and ‘convoluta’ using several measured physical and chemical parameters, while testing for niche differences between the two taxa.  To do so, we used soil cores and temperature loggers to obtain physical and chemical measurements of the soils across the range of each taxon (14 sites total). Ordination was used to describe overall niche across all measured parameters. Generalized linear models were used to test for specific soil parameters that differed significantly between taxa. For any such parameter, differences in tolerance range were analyzed with the asymptotic test for equality of the coefficient of variation. In general, ‘convoluta’ and ‘scirpoidea’ show little edaphic niche differentiation corresponding with taxonomical identity; instead soil niches exhibit positive correlation with sites’ geographical proximity. However, ‘convoluta’ is associated with a hotter growing season and lower exchangeable sodium than ‘scirpoidea’ soils. Furthermore, exchangeable sodium and growing season temperature have significantly lower ranges in ‘convoluta’ across all measured sites, possibly indicating narrower edaphic tolerances for ‘convoluta’. Notably, in the one fen-like ‘convoluta’ site (Horseshoe Bay), soils were markedly different for growing season temperature and soil chemistry profiles than other ‘convoluta’ sites, which warrants further examination. Future studies will be conducted to elucidate whether there is genomic evidence for edaphically-driven selection within ‘scirpoidea’ and ‘convoluta’.


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1 - University of Colorado Denver, Integrative Biology, CB171, P.O. Box 173363, Denver, CO, 80217, USA
2 - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology, P.O. Box 5585, Torgarden, Trondheim, NO-7485, Norway

Keywords:
Soil
Carex
Endemism
edaphic adaptation
Cyperaceae
alvar
fen.

Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster
Session: P, Recent Topics Posters
Location: Grand Ballroom - Exhibit Hall/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PRT008
Abstract ID:1285
Candidate for Awards:None


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