This award will fund a two year study in Mexico to elucidate the patterns and processes of evolution of New World Podostemaceae, the largest family of aquatic flowering plants (river weeds). Both a field collection program and experimental studies of the patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification will be conducted. The collection will provide the foundation for subsequent systematic and evolutionary studies and will be the first step in the production of a taxonomic framework to estimate the diversity, sensitivity to human impact, and potential utility, as biological indicators of water pollution, of the Podostemaceae. The insight gained from these studies will be valuable in planning broader scale studies of reproductive systems throughout the family. The project is a collaborative research effort between Dr. C. Thomas Philbrick, of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, California and Mr. Alejandro Novelo, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City. The project provides a great opportunity not only to study reproduction and evolution in a biologically diverse and sometimes peculiar group but will also improve our understanding of the biodiversity and evolution of aquatic flowering plants overall.
