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Stacey Smith
Department of Botany 430 Lincoln Drive University of Wisconsin Madison, WI 53706-1381
Office: 220 Birge Hall
Fax: (608) 262-7509
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Educational Background:
BA in Spanish & BS in Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1999
Master of Philosophy in Botanical Diversity, Universities of Reading and Birmingham, UK, 2001
Research Interests:
Floral evolution, pollination ecology, systematics of Solanaceae, species-level phylogenetics
Hobbies:
Traveling, salsa-dancing, reading, badminton, collecting wild and crazy clothing
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Current Projects:
Pollinator-mediated evolution and diversification of Andean Solanaceae
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Project Summary: Ecological studies have long recognized the close relationship between environmental variables, e.g., climate and elevation, and pollinator composition and abundance. Thus, when plant species disperse to new environments, they may encounter new pollinator fauna and undergo changes in floral morphology and pollination systems. The proposed research will examine the hypothesis that transitions to high-elevation environments are correlated with shifts to hummingbird pollination and the evolution of colorful, tubular flowers using the Andean subtribe Iochrominae (Solanaceae), a clade of 27 species sister to Physalinae in the large subfamily Solanoideae. Iochrominae occur at wide range of elevations, and they display a great diversity of floral morphologies and pollination systems, making them an ideal group in which to investigate this hypothesis. The study will be divided into three parts: a phylogenetic analysis of Iochrominae, field studies of pollination, and biochemical analysis of floral pigmentation. Together, these components will allow me to assess the extent to which elevational transitions are correlated with shifts in pollination systems and floral evolution. This will be the first study to examine the ecological relationship between pollinators and environmental variables in a phylogenetic context and one of very few to incorporate pigment chemistry into phylogenetic studies of pollinator shifts. Considering that topographical variation combined with plant-animal coevolution are thought to be responsible for the immense floristic diversity of the Neotropics, Iochrominae may serve as a case study of the process of adaptive radiation and diversification that has taken place in multitudes of neotropical angiosperm lineages. |
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Publications D. A. Baum, S. D. Smith & S. S. Donovan. 2005. The tree-thinking challenge. Science 979-980. D. A. Baum, S. D. Smith, A.Yen, W. S. Alverson, R. Nyffeler, B. A. Whitlock & R. L. Oldham. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships of Malvatheca (Bombacoideae and Malvoideae; Malvaceae sensu lato) as inferred from plastid DNA sequences. American Journal of Botany 91 (11): 1863-1871. S. D. Smith, R. S. Cowan, K. B. Gregg, M. W. Chase, N. Maxted & M. F. Fay. 2004. Genetic discontinuities among populations of Cleistes (Orchidaceae, Vanilloideae) in North America. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 145: 87-95. S. D. Smith & J. E. Bond. 2003. An analysis of the secondary structure of the mitochondrial large subunit rRNA gene (16S) in spiders and its implications for phylogenetic reconstruction. J. Arachnol. 31 (1): 44-54. S. D. Smith & S. Knapp. 2002. The natural history of reproduction in Solanum and Lycianthes (Solanaceae) in a subtropical moist forest. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Bot. 32: 125-136. S. D. Smith & I. E. Peralta. 2002. Ecogeographic surveys as tools for analyzing potential reproductive isolating mechanisms: An example using Solanum juglandifolium Dunal, S. ochranthum Dunal, S. lycopersicoides Dunal and S. sitiens I. M. Johnston. Taxon 51: 341-349.
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Favorite Links J. A. M. van Balken's Solanaceae webpage
Please click here for: A “Squash” Technique for Observing Chromosomes During Microsporogenesis
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| Send comments or questions about this site to mmkoopman@wisc.edu |
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