Date of Award
Summer 8-2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Biological Sciences
Department
Biological Sciences
Major Professor
Dr. Jerome Howard
Second Advisor
Dr. Charles Bell
Third Advisor
Dr. Julie Whitbeck
Abstract
Introduced populations of Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae) possess extremely low levels of genetic diversity due to severe bottleneck events and clonal reproduction. While populations elsewhere have been well studied, North American populations of E. crassipes remain understudied. We used Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism markers to assess genetic diversity and population structure in North American E. crassipes populations. Patterns of diversity over the past fifty years were analyzed using herbarium specimens. Furthermore, we sampled populations across the Gulf Coast of the United States throughout a year to determine contemporary genetic diversity and assess potential seasonal effects. Genetic diversity was found to be scant in the United States without population structure, agreeing with previous studies from other regions. Genetic diversity has remained consistently low over the past fifty years despite significant changes in selection pressure. However, evidence for and against population structure between seasons was found and the consequences of this are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Weidow, Elliot D., "Genetic Diversity in an Invasive Clonal Plant? A Historical and Contemporary Perspective" (2018). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2522.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2522
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Biology Commons, Botany Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Breeding and Genetics Commons, Population Biology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Weed Science Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.