Date on Honors Thesis
Fall 5-9-2025
Major
Biology
Minor
Chemistry
Examining Committee Member
Kate He, PhD, Advisor
Examining Committee Member
Oliver Beckers, PhD, Committee Member
Examining Committee Member
Laura Sullivan-Beckers, PhD, Committee Member
Abstract/Description
Herbarium specimens are the most valuable, verifiable, and sustainable records to study the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems. Temporal herbarium data can provide critical information on how species respond to changes in habitat conditions by tracking changes in species’ morphological and phenological traits. This study aims to use Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and common greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) to assess the impact of climate change on invasive and native plants. Leaf traits, such as leaf size and stomatal density are good indicators of plant’s adaptation to the changing environment. By examining changes in leaf traits over time in species with similar life forms, locan gain a vital understanding of how the environment shapes the phenological characteristics of targeted species. We used 57 L. japonica herbarium specimens from 1947 to 2017 and 39 S. rotundifolia herbarium specimens from 1965 to 2007 to assess leaf traits changes under the changing climate. We found that leaf size displayed increasing trends over both time and temperature in both species, even though the relations were not statistically significant. Similarly, leaf stomatal density of both species showed no significant relation with time and temperature. The statistical insignificance found in leaf traits could be due to the limited sample size used in the study. Future research could incorporate large datasets from other herbaria around the country to increase the statistical power of the data analysis.
Recommended Citation
Ebbecke, Claudia and Ebbecke, Claudia, "Understanding temporal changes in leaf traits of native Smilax rotundifolia and invasive Lonicera Japonica using long-term herbarium records from Kentucky" (2025). Honors College Theses. 279.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/honorstheses/279