The contribution of contemporary environments & a legacy of range expansion to the evolution of plant reproduction

Laura Galloway

Department of Biology, University of Virginia, USA

lg8b@virginia.edu

Variation in plant mating systems is often thought to reflect local pollination environments. However, it may also be associated with historical processes, in particular range expansion. We evaluate a geographic pattern in mating system in Campanula americana, determining the explanatory value of contemporary pollinators and historical processes identified by patterns of genetic variation and load. We find a strong relationship between distance from glacial refugia and mating system, supporting the importance of historic factors in adaptive evolution. Studying mating systems in a phylogeographic framework permits an understanding of how current patterns of evolution may be contingent upon the past; this approach is increasingly relevant to predict the consequences of population fragmentation and range shifts associated with warming climates, areas addressed in ongoing research.

Recent publications:

1 Prior, C. J., N. C. Layman, M. H. Koski, L. F. Galloway and J. W. Busch. 2020. Species range expansion involved colonization from two mid-latitude origins in a North American forest herb. Molecular Ecology, in press.

2 Koski, M. H. and L. F. Galloway. 2020. Temperature and historical colonization shape geographic variation in petal reflectance and coloration. Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 991.

3 Koski, M. H., C. J. Prior, N. C. Layman, J. W. Busch and L. F. Galloway. 2019. Selfing ability and drift load evolve with range expansion. Evolution Letters 3: 500-512.