NSF Org:	DEB Division Of Environmental Biology
Recipient:	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, THE
Initial Amendment Date:	May 11, 2009
Latest Amendment Date:	May 8, 2012
Award Number:	0909804
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Simon Malcomber smalcomb@nsf.gov  (703)292-8227 DEB  Division Of Environmental Biology BIO  Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	July 1, 2009
End Date:	December 31, 2012 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$12,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$12,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2009 = $12,000.00
History of Investigator:	Bruce Baldwin (Principal Investigator) bbaldwin@berkeley.edu Michael Park (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of California-Berkeley 1608 4TH ST STE 201 BERKELEY CA  US  94710-1749 (510)643-3891
Sponsor Congressional District:	12
Primary Place of Performance:	University of California-Berkeley 1608 4TH ST STE 201 BERKELEY CA  US  94710-1749
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	12
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	GS3YEVSS12N6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	PHYLOGENETIC SYSTEMATICS
Primary Program Source:	01000910DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	1171, 9169, EGCH
Program Element Code(s):	117100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.074

ABSTRACT

Vernal pools are island-like depressions characterized by seasonal extremes: flooding during winter and desiccation during summer; they are home to many endangered plants and animals. In such habitats, plants and animals must possess extreme adaptations. Many species of Eryngium occupy Californian vernal pools; these plants are closely related to carrots and parsnips. In this study, adaptations in Eryngium will be viewed from a historical perspective. DNA sequences will be collected from related species of Eryngium from California, Oregon, and Chile -- some restricted to vernal pools and some from normal terrestrial habitats. Relationships between these plants will be reconstructed from their DNA sequences. This history will give insights into how a specific adaptation, seasonal changes in leaf form, may have arisen. In Eryngium, as well as other vernal-pool plants, two types of leaves are produced: (1) winter leaves, which are well suited to flooded environments but as a trade-off produce less energy than (2) summer leaves, which are poorly suited to winter flooding. An experiment will be conducted to determine if the shift from winter leaves to summer leaves is triggered by increases in the amount of daylight per day during spring, and to determine whether leaf development is tightly constrained by genetics or if it can respond adaptively to changing environmental conditions.
An important question to biologists to be addressed is whether specialization of habitat is irreversible: If plants adapt to vernal pools, are they trapped by their success? Many species of Eryngium in the vernal pools of California are in peril, and an answer to this question along with improvements in the understanding of the life history of Eryngium will aid conservation efforts. The experiment in this study gives opportunity for underrepresented minorities to learn scientific research techniques otherwise not available to undergraduates.

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