VA Native Plant Society: The Legacy of Range Expansion…
VNPS Jefferson Chapter Meeting: The Legacy of Range Expansion After the Last Glaciation on the Genetics, Reproduction, and Performance of a Virginia Wildflower
Wednesday, September 11th, 7:00-9:00 pm, Education Building at Ivy Creek Natural Area, 1780 Earlysville Road, Charlottesville.
Dr. Laura Galloway, Commonwealth Professor of Biology at the University of Virginia, will speak to us about a new paper that came out in late August about genetic and phenotypic changes that occurred as plants expanded their ranges after the last glaciation and insight these may give on response to current climate change.
Dr. Galloway’s research uses ecological and genetical approaches to explore mechanisms of adaptation and patterns of evolutionary change in natural plant populations. Dr. Galloway and her students incorporate studies of invasive species, altered habitats, and climate change into their research because these novel conditions permit insight into mechanisms of evolution. Current projects in her lab focus on the evolution of inbreeding across a species’ range, maternal effects as a mechanism of adaptive evolution, and whether polyploidy really results in "instant speciation" as is typically thought. Free; all are welcome.