In summer 2018, I began a project to look at pollen movement within and among the remnant populations. To do this, I chose two focal areas, the NW sites in the study area (populations: ALF, EELR, KJ, NWLF, GC, SGC, NGC, KJ, NNWLF) and the SW sites (populations: LC, NRRX, RRX, YOH, and two large populations in between these sites). I mapped and collected leaf tissue from all individuals in the study areas and harvested seedheads from a subset of these individuals (see Reproductive Fitness in Remnants). I am currently extracting the DNA from the leaf tissue samples and a subset of the seeds I collected, and will use the microsatellite markers that Jennifer Ison developed in her dissertation to match up the genotypes of the offspring (i.e., the seeds) with their most likely father (i.e., the pollen source).
An Echinacea that has had today’s load of pollen fully removed by pollinators
Start year: 2018
Location: Remnant prairies in central Minnesota
Overlaps with: Reproductive Fitness in Remnants, Phenology in the Remnants
Products: Check back with the flog for preliminary results and annual reports.
Team members who worked on this project include: Amy Waananen
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