
NSF Org: |
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | February 8, 2012 |
Latest Amendment Date: | March 4, 2015 |
Award Number: | 1146488 |
Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
Program Manager: |
Simon Malcomber
smalcomb@nsf.gov (703)292-8227 DEB Division Of Environmental Biology BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
Start Date: | March 1, 2012 |
End Date: | February 29, 2016 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $139,643.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $164,203.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2013 = $24,068.00 FY 2014 = $6,473.00 FY 2015 = $6,965.00 |
History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
4100 ILLINOIS ROUTE 53 LISLE IL US 60532-1293 (630)968-0074 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
4100 Illinois Route 53 Lisle IL US 60532-1293 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | PHYLOGENETIC SYSTEMATICS |
Primary Program Source: |
01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
Oaks (the flowering plant genus Quercus) include some of America's most ecologically and economically important trees. The approximately 255 oaks of the New World oak lineage dominate North American and Mexican woody plant biomass, biodiversity, ecology, and nutrient cycling. Despite the significant ecosystem services provided by oaks, the biodiversity of this genus is poorly understood. In this project, collaborators from The Morton Arboretum (IL), the University of Notre Dame (IN), Duke University (NC), University of Minnesota, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México will undertake a comprehensive systematic study of the oaks of the New World. The project will integrate next-generation genomic (DNA) sequencing, plant physiology, and direct study of plants in the field and museum collections to gain insights into the oak tree of life and the basic question of how oak traits, distributions, and diversity evolve in response to changes in habitat and climate.
Understanding of how oaks respond to shifts in climate and habitat is essential to conserving forest biodiversity and healthy forest ecosystems for future generations. The project will broadly disseminate findings and increase biodiversity awareness and understanding across diverse audiences in several ways: strengthening of an international oak collaboration among U.S., Mexican, and European researchers; training of undergraduate through postdoctoral biodiversity researchers; training K-12 teachers and their students in biodiversity science; and public outreach through museums, botanical gardens, and online venues.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
In this 4-year project, collaborators at The Morton Arboretum, University of Minnesota, University of Notre Dame, Duke University, and IIES-UNAM (Mexico) investigated the evolution and ecology of the genus Quercus, the oaks. The project focused initially on the oaks of North and Central America, but increased in scope to include much of the diversity of the world's ca. 450 oak species. Collaborators integrated their expertise in phylogenetics (inferring evolutionary history), genetics, ecology, and taxonomy to make numerous fundamental contributions to our understanding of oak biodiversity and to the tools used to investigate oak biodiversity. Accomplishments include:
A large body of collections for use in these and future studies. The group collected specimens from more than 600 trees in North America, Mexico and South America. These specimens are housed in museums (http://quercus.mortonarb.org/advanced_search.php?search_type=combined&coll_area=&plant_collector_project=oaks+of+the+americas), and specimens as well as images can searched in our online database (http://quercus.myspecies.info/). These specimens provide a resource for researchers worldwide who are interested in studying the distribution, ecology, and genetics of oaks.
Genomic data from more than 600 individual trees. Using a targeted sequencing method called restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq), the group has characterized the genetics of an estimated half of the world's oak species. These data are still being analyzed, but will soon be available to researchers worldwide to investigate genetic relationships across the genus.
Understanding of biogeography and evolutionary history of the genus. Our work to date provides the first species-level reconstruction of evolutionary history in the genus Quercus, which we expect will form a foundation for decades of work in ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of the genus. Our work demonstrates that (1) Quercus first split into an old world clade sister to an American clade; and (2) within the oaks of the Americas, there is a replicated basal split in both the red oaks (section Lobatae) and the white oaks (section Quercus) between western and eastern North America, with Mexican species derived from within the eastern lineage. This finding belies prior assumptions that the American oaks had made multiple dispersals back and forth between Mexico and temperate North America or perhaps even originated in Mexico, spreading northwards.
Practical tools for identifying species. In addition to providing evolutionary insights, our work has resulted in practical molecular tools for identifying species: a DNA barcode for eastern North American oaks, which we are now using to investigate how hybridization impacts the conservation value of oak collections in a public garden; and chloroplast DNA markers that can be used to distinguish east Asian oaks of conservation concern, potentially even from small wood samples (e.g., furniture). Both of these toolkits were developed in collaboration with colleagues in Europe and North America and are exciting, unexpected spinoffs of our work.
Training students, teachers, and early career scientists. Through this project, we have provided direct training at The Morton Arboretum in various aspects of plant biodiversity science to five postdocs, two graduate students, four undergraduates, and three early-career scientists. Many other undergraduates and visiting scientists passing through our lab but not directly involved in the project have also received training in skills developed through this project. Additionally, the PI on this project has provided public seminars and oak identification workshops that bring our research findings and practical advice to oak practitioners to a broader audience.
Conferences. The PI on this project has co-organized two large conferences on oak / tree biodiversity associated with this grant: the 2015 International Oak Society meeting at The Morton Arboretum, attended by ca. 190 researchers, educators, and oak practitioners (http://www.mortonarb.org/ios2015) ; and the 2016 Genomics and Forest Tree Genetics (IUFRO) conference in Arcachon, France (https://colloque.inra.fr/iufro2016/).
Tool development and transfer of knowledge to other areas. Finally, our work in RADseq phylogenetics has led to a software package used by a broad range of evolutionary biologists who are using this data type (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RADami/index.html); a book chapter on RADseq phylogenetics (http://www.iapt-taxon.org/downloads/regveg/Chapter_6_RegVeg_158.pdf); application of these same methods to elms, maples, sedges, and other species in our laboratory; and publication of more than a dozen peer-reviewed or popular articles. The outcomes of this project, as a consequence, are reaching a broad audience and having impacts beyond the area of oak evolutionary biology.
Last Modified: 07/29/2016
Modified by: Andrew L Hipp
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