This project will investigate the taxonomy of species from the charismatic tropical plant genus Columnea. Members of this genus are pollinated by hummingbirds, and are a conspicuous component of most cloud forests in Central and South America. Identification of most species is difficult to impossible even for the species that are already named since there is no unified treatment. This project will create a unified taxonomic treatment that brings together illustrations, descriptions, tools for identifying species, photographs, and distribution maps - provided both in print and via on-line access to all. A revised classification for the entire genus will be generated using DNA sequences as a means of uncovering traits that define taxonomic groups. Training will be provided to numerous undergraduates and one graduate student. Students will learn all aspects of systematics research from formulating hypotheses and fieldwork to presenting results at meetings. Their training and education will be an integral part of this proposal and contribute toward training the next generation of plant systematists. The results will be presented to both the scientific community and to the general public by publishing papers and developing web-based resources for the genus.
Federal Award ID: 0949270 Report Submission Period: 03/01/2013 to 02/28/2014 General Results and Significance: One goal of this grant was to redefine boundaries within one of the largest groups of plants in the African violet family in the Caribbean and Central and South America, the genus Columnea. We have been able to do this and found that none of the previous classifications was in accordance with the evolutionary data. These results will have impacts on future studies in this group, providing researchers with groups of species that all share a more recent common ancestor than any other group and this can help develop better questions and hypotheses on these plants that can lead to advancements in our understanding of how biodiversity emerges and is sustained. These results also have significance in the ability of field biologists to identify these plants and leads to the second goal which is a revision of the species that had been placed in one section of this group of plants. This section has been found to be better split into 8 sections. Revisions for each of these 8 sections is now underway and will provide up to date distribution maps, keys to species, habitat descriptions, current descriptions of the species, photographs, and conservation assessments. All of these can be used by field biologists as they try to assess diversity in some of the most-threatened habitats in the world. Some species are truly rare and localized, whereas others were taxomically poorly defined and represent widespread common species. These data are valuable to minimize costs and maximize the impact of conservation efforts. Additionally, as a result of studying herbarium specimens and field expeditions to Jamaica and Colombia, 16 species, previously unknown to science have been uncovered. Four of these have been described and the remaining 12 have been illustrated and descriptions prepared in advance of publishing. Training and Education: This grant included education and training in scientific research to one Master's level student and four undergraduates over its duration. These students included three women and one hispanic student. Although the students all worked on plant-based topics, the training they received is applicable to multiple fields of science and has allowed many of these students to pursue post-graduate degrees. Ms. Lacie Schulte received her M. S. in 2012 and has two publications from the result of her work and one that is submitted. She is pursuing a medical degree this fall. Ms. Shandra Jeffries received her B. S. degree in 2013 and is pursuing a Master's degree in genetic counseling. Ms. Maggie Ooi graduated in December 2013 and has not yet opted to pursue an advanced degree. Mr. Jadiel Rodriguez graduated in June 2014 and is applying for medical school. Ms. Carly Prior graduates in 2015 and is applying for a Ph. D. in plant evolutionary biology. Both Ms. Schulte and Ms. Ooi accompanied Smith during the collecting trip to Jamaica in 2012, allowing them first hand experience in a tropical climate and interactions with different cultures. Collaboration on this project with Dr. Marisol Amaya-Marquez of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota has helped her organize her own research on the classification and revision of one of the other sections in Columnea and we have collaborated on describing two new species in the genus. In addition, Mr. Oscar Humberto Marin-Gomez, a M. S. student at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota accompanied Smith on his expedition to collect materials for this project in Colombia. This allowed Mr. Marin-Gomez to gather additional data on his thesis on leaf form in Columnea and have numerous discussions with Smith on classification and evolution in Columnea.
