An Evolutionary Play in the Ecological Theatre:
Influences of Landscape and Climate Change on the Clan of the Parry primrose
By Tass Kelso, PhD, Colorado Collage, Colorado Springs, CO
Influences of Landscape and Climate Change on the Clan of the Parry primrose
By Tass Kelso, PhD, Colorado Collage, Colorado Springs, CO
The Parry primrose clan encompasses a group of species endemic to western North America from Colorado to Idaho and south into the Sierra Madre of Mexico. This talk will examine the diverse genetic and ecological perspectives we now have on the group, and how these support models of speciation on different time and geographic scales. Paleoecological, landscape and climate data show changes in the Rocky Mountain/Great Basin region since the Cretaceous that probably enhanced speciation through separation of populations on increasingly isolated alpine habitats. However, regional climatic and vegetation models for the future indicate that concerns about habitat loss, diminishing populations, and poor reproduction are warranted for many members of the clan.
Tass Kelso is a professor of biology at Colorado College, where she has been teaching botany since 1987. Her research specialties are the evolution, diversity and biogeography of the western flora, especially the Primulaceae.
Tass Kelso is a professor of biology at Colorado College, where she has been teaching botany since 1987. Her research specialties are the evolution, diversity and biogeography of the western flora, especially the Primulaceae.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Denver Botanic Gardens – Gates Hall
6:30 – 8 p.m.