This project investigates the role of three fundamental constraints on mate availability – temporal asynchrony, spatial isolation, and reproductive incompatibility – in remnant Echinacea angustifolia populations. During the summer of 2014, we conducted two studies related to The Mating Scene project. In the first study, we mapped 991 Echinacea plants and monitored the phenology of 1360 flowering heads across 31 remnants to quantify spatial isolation and flowering asynchrony. At the end of the season, we harvested 193 flowering heads from 25 remnants to assess seed set. In the second study, we performed 364 pollen crosses to characterize patterns of reproductive incompatibility within 10 remnants. With the data collected in 2014 and subsequent years, we aim to elucidate how the interactions between temporal asynchrony, spatial isolation, and reproductive incompatibility influence reproductive fitness in fragmented prairie remnants.
| site | # of flowering plants | # of flowering heads | # of crosses | # of heads harvested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | aa | 60 | 83 | 36 | 5 |
| 2 | alf | 63 | 78 | 6 | |
| 3 | btg | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 4 | dog | 1 | 2 | ||
| 5 | eelr | 33 | 17 | 28 | 5 |
| 6 | eri | 38 | 54 | 5 | |
| 7 | eth | 9 | 46 | 5 | |
| 8 | gc | 6 | 6 | 3 | |
| 9 | kj | 7 | 8 | 5 | |
| 10 | lce | 90 | 70 | 24 | 5 |
| 11 | lcw | 51 | 95 | 24 | 5 |
| 12 | lfe | 64 | 103 | 24 | 5 |
| 13 | lfw | 89 | 57 | 24 | 6 |
| 14 | ngc | 8 | 5 | ||
| 15 | nnwlf | 2 | 13 | 5 | |
| 16 | nrrx | 20 | 25 | 5 | |
| 17 | nwlf | 13 | 16 | 5 | |
| 18 | on27 | 92 | 96 | 42 | 5 |
| 19 | ri | 82 | 112 | 44 | 5 |
| 20 | rrx | 43 | 47 | 33 | 5 |
| 21 | rrxdc | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 22 | sap | 29 | 13 | 5 | |
| 23 | sgc | 8 | 243 | 5 | |
| 24 | SppE | 92 | 81 | 41 | 42 |
| 25 | SppW | 51 | 38 | 44 | 42 |
| 26 | th | 8 | 9 | 5 | |
| 27 | tower | 7 | 11 | 5 | |
| 28 | waa | 4 | 8 | ||
| 29 | wood | 4 | 4 | ||
| 30 | yohE | 4 | 5 | ||
| 31 | yohW | 7 | 9 |
Start year: 2014
Location: Phenology in 31 total remnants, compatibility in 10 remnants
Products: The phenology and compatibility datasets need to be made readyR. The harvested flowering heads are being processed at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Overlaps with: phenology in six remnants, fire and flowering at SPP
