| Abstract Detail
Biogeography Cribelar, Morgan [1], Simmonds, Taylor [2], Weber, Jenn [3]. Utilizing Humboldt to Assess Niche Overlap in E-space of the Cryptic Genus Triodanis. Quantifying niche space is important for understanding biodiversity, and for describing the environmental conditions relevant to the ecological persistence of species. Elucidating these environmental requirements can provide the framework for modeling species persistence with ongoing climate change. Understanding niche requirements and overlap, especially in sympatric hybridizing species, is especially informative for understanding patterns of reproductive isolation. With this study, we aim to compare niche overlap in environmental and climatic space, utilizing the R package Humboldt, among all species in the Triodanis genus through the use of digitized herbaria specimens and iNaturalist data. Occurrence records were collected and vetted for accuracy of each species of Triodanis. (Campanulaceae). Triodanis is a highly cryptic genus of seven species, some which are known to hybridize, and distributed throughout much of North- and South- America. Species display a wide range in geographic distributions (e.g, two counties in TX for T. coloradoensis; mid-Atlantic states west to CA and south to Argentina for T. biflora), habitat types (e.g, road sides, prairies, rocky outcrops, etc.), and climates. Herbaria are full of untapped resources for occurrence data, collection dates, and localities that can be used to assess chronological shifts in range distribution or flowering time and compare occupied niche space. Digitized herbarium data provide intense and in-depth records of distributional and phenological shifts over time and can be used to predict future ecological and evolutionary changes. Due to the wide range of quality of herbarium label information, records without a photo or locality information were not included in this study. Records pre-dating 1980 will also be omitted to ensure modeling reflects modern distribution. These data were vetted through photos using the most recent taxonomic delineation to ensure that records with questionable identification were not used. This vetted data was used in tandem with the r package Humboldt to assess niche overlap driven by climatic and environmental variables significant to the modern distribution of Triodanis species. Environmental (ie: land cover type) and climatic (ie: temperature) raster layers (n=35) were assessed for co-correlation, removing correlated factors resulted in n=8 layers for modeling. An iterative workflow assessed each combination of Triodanis species for niche overlap (n=21 models). This research provides an intimate understanding of the niche and distribution of each species in the genus, and facilitates research regarding environmental requirements, breeding system evolution, and phenological responses to climate change.
1 - Southern Illinois U, Carbondale, 1125 Lincoln Dr, Life Sci II, Rm 425, Carbondale, IL, 62901, United States
2 - 481 Lange Rd, Ava, IL, 62907, United States
3 - Southern Illinois U, Carbondale, Plant Biology, Rm 420 (Mail Code: 6509), Life Science II, Carbondale, IL, 62901, United States
Keywords:
Climatic niche
Species Distribution Modeling
biogeography.
Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PBG002
Abstract ID:236
Candidate for Awards:None |
