Murray State University
Compilation of Pleistocene Glacial Maps of North America for Botanical Explorations to Explore Alpine Plant Population Dynamics due to Glaciation Cycles
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Freshmen
Major
Biology
Institution 24-25
Murray State University
KY House District #
4
KY Senate District #
1
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Ingrid Jordon-Thaden, PhD
Department
Dept. of Biology
Abstract
This presentation is a summary of official geological mapped alpine and continental glaciers present during the Pleistocene epoch. These maps were created with the freely available ESRI system using government and academic maps to create shape files, as well as some existing government shape files. The maps showcase the alpine glaciers in the western United States and Alaska, as well as continental glaciers covering Canada and reaching into the northern part of the United States. The lab in which I am a part of focuses on the study of population genetics of alpine plants and the effect of climatic fluctuations during the ice ages on plant populations. Glaciation cycles of the most recent Ice Ages have resulted in species distributions known as disjunct species as their lineages were split. The history of their lineages can be studied by sequencing their DNA. As part of this multi-year project, the first step is to identify accessible localities for plant collections of specific alpine species. These locations must meet specific criteria, logistically, biologically, and geographically. We must collect a wide variety of plant lineages during the short summer field season, while still accurately representing the diversity of our chosen species. Therefore, we find field sites that are accessible relative to other field sites, that are situated within the alpine tundra, and host the specific disjunct species that we are targeting. Most importantly, the chosen localities have to have been under the influence of glaciers during the Pleistocene epoch and have nearby regions that remained unglaciated during the same period. It is in those unglaciated sites where plant lineages found refuge during the glacial maximums, and this is hypothesized to be detectable in their DNA sequence variation. After field collections of plant tissues, we will be processing them in the lab for DNA extraction and sequencing.
Compilation of Pleistocene Glacial Maps of North America for Botanical Explorations to Explore Alpine Plant Population Dynamics due to Glaciation Cycles
This presentation is a summary of official geological mapped alpine and continental glaciers present during the Pleistocene epoch. These maps were created with the freely available ESRI system using government and academic maps to create shape files, as well as some existing government shape files. The maps showcase the alpine glaciers in the western United States and Alaska, as well as continental glaciers covering Canada and reaching into the northern part of the United States. The lab in which I am a part of focuses on the study of population genetics of alpine plants and the effect of climatic fluctuations during the ice ages on plant populations. Glaciation cycles of the most recent Ice Ages have resulted in species distributions known as disjunct species as their lineages were split. The history of their lineages can be studied by sequencing their DNA. As part of this multi-year project, the first step is to identify accessible localities for plant collections of specific alpine species. These locations must meet specific criteria, logistically, biologically, and geographically. We must collect a wide variety of plant lineages during the short summer field season, while still accurately representing the diversity of our chosen species. Therefore, we find field sites that are accessible relative to other field sites, that are situated within the alpine tundra, and host the specific disjunct species that we are targeting. Most importantly, the chosen localities have to have been under the influence of glaciers during the Pleistocene epoch and have nearby regions that remained unglaciated during the same period. It is in those unglaciated sites where plant lineages found refuge during the glacial maximums, and this is hypothesized to be detectable in their DNA sequence variation. After field collections of plant tissues, we will be processing them in the lab for DNA extraction and sequencing.