The project will focus on a closely related group of plants in the carrot family that are commonly found in South America. Despite centuries of research in this group, relationships among its members have remained inscrutable. These problems are reflected in wide-scale confusion among species and identification of larger groups of species. Preliminary data suggests that these problems stem in part from multiple, parallel evolution along the Andes mountain range, and from exchanges between South America and Australia/New Zealand, probably through the sub-Antarctic region. Solving these problems will provide insights into the origin and evolution of the plants in the Andes and the environmental forces that have shaped their diversification. The researchers propose a multi-disciplinary study that involves intensive field studies, collection of data from both genetic and morphological sources, monographic revisions, and analysis of how the species are related to each other.
The collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and integrative design of the study provides many opportunities for impacts of this research to the broader community. The project involves students across several levels from high school to undergraduate and graduate students that will work along with an international team of researchers who have specialties in field biology, herbarium studies, anatomy, morphology, and genetic data. Each training opportunity is also designed to be an "exchange of expertise" among the project participants, allowing participants at all levels to serve as both teachers and students of different skill sets. Furthermore, this integrative, multi-disciplinary approach will serve as a model for the study of other major groups of plants where many evolutionary problems persist, as well as for other groups of organisms that evolved in the Andes and the Southern Hemisphere.
