Sarah Wright

Climate Change, Phenology, Biogeography
NSF Graduate Research Fellow, 2006-2009

Department of Botany
University of Wisconsin, Madison
(608) 265-2191
sdwright2 at wisc.edu

Education
Research Interests
Current Research
Research Experience
Publications
Teaching
CV

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Education

Ph.D. Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI in progress
B.S. Environmental Science (Biology concentration), Bradley University, Peoria, IL. 2001.
B.A. English, Bradley University, Peoria, IL. 2001.

Research Interests

I am interested in how climate change may alter patterns of ecosystem assembly by altering distributions of plants in space (i.e. range shifts) and/or time (shifts in phenology). It is likely that habitat fragmentation and the rapid pace of climate change will prohibit northward migration sufficient for many plants to avoid climate stress; thus, population persistence is likely to depend on the extent to which plants can adapt to changes in local climate. My thesis work will examine the contribution of climate to setting range limits of Lupinus perennis (wild lupine), hostplant of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly and how those limits may shift in a future climate. I have also had the honor of working with phenological data recorded by Aldo Leopold in 1935-45 and continued by his daughter, Nina Leopold Bradley from 1976 to the present. These data comprise 302 events, 169 of which are date of first bloom of plants, including that of Lupinus perennis (whose first bloom occurs about 5 days earlier now than in Aldo’s time).

I am also interested in applying the methods of teaching-as-research to phenology education in K-12 classrooms. Currently, I am collaborating with award-winning teacher Mr. Jeff Maas to integrate phenological studies into his 2 nd/3 rd grade classroom’s science curriculum.

Current Research

Lupinus perennis is a flagship species of the sandy pine barrens and savanna systems, and the sole larval hostplant of the Karner Blue Butterfly. While much research over the past two decades has focused on the response of wild lupine to light availability, fire, elevated nitrogen and CO2, and drought, little is known regarding lupine’s temperature thresholds, or whether clinal variation in response to temperature exists which may permit local adaptation. A fuller understanding of this species’ distributional limits may prove useful in managing habitat for the Karner Blue.

I will combine re-surveys, common garden experiments, and re-analysis of phenological data to understand the role of landscape-level factors and climate in shaping the current distribution of wild lupine and to predict how this species will fare in the future. The Waller Lab has re-surveyed 62 northern forest sites and 130 southern upland forests originally sampled by John Curtis in the 1940s and ‘50s. Similarly, I will use re-surveys of sandy savanna sites studied by Curtis to assess the relative contribution of landscape factors such as deer densities and canopy closure to decline of wild lupine. I am also reciprocally transplanting wild lupine seedlings grown from seed sources of known provenance into common gardens along a N-S temperature gradient (northwestern WI to central IL) to examine the extent to which plants exhibit ecotypic variation in climate tolerance traits, and the extent to which those traits are heritable. Finally, I am using historical records and phenological observations of both wild lupine and the Karner Blue in the field to assess the risk of disjunction between life cycles of these species in a changed climate.

Keywords: Climate Change, Phenology, Biogeography

Research Experience

NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program, Bradley University, 1999. With my mentor, Dr. Kelly McConnaughay, I explored the nature and extent of phenotypic plasticity shown by white clover (Trifoliumrepens) seedlings in response to high (full sun) or low (20% full sun) levels of light availability.

Research Assistant, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, 2000 and 2001. I worked with Dr. Barbara Frase (Bradley University) to measure plant community diversity within and outside cattle exclosures in a grazed alpine meadow, and monitor migration patterns and fecundity of Neotoma cinerea (bushy-tailed woodrat) via a mark-and-release study.

Publications

Wright, S.D. and McConnaughay, K.D.M. (2002) Interpreting phenotypic plasticity: the importance of ontogeny. Plant Species Biology 17: 119-131.

Waller, D.M. and S. Wright (2006) Trouble in the understory. Woodland Management May 2006.

Bradley, N.L. and Wright, S.D. Thinking like a flower: phenology and climate change at the Leopold shack. In The Vanishing Present: Wisconsin’s Changing Lands, Waters, and Wildlife. Eds D.M.Waller and T.P. Rooney. Madison, WI: Univ. of Chicago Press. In review.

Manuscripts in Prep.

Wright, S.D. and McConnaughay, K.D.M. Morphological plasticity in Trifolium repens seedlings grown in contrasting light regimes. Unpub. ms.

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Teaching

I served as a Teaching Assistant for “Environmental Studies: The Humanistic Perspective,” taught by Dr. Nancy Langston in 2003 and for “Ecology for Voters,” taught by Dr. Don Waller in 2005. I particularly enjoy exploring ecology-related issues and topics with non-ecology majors, since the interdisciplinary nature of environmental problems requires the collaboration of people with diverse backgrounds and expertise.

I also enjoy teaching in K-12 classrooms and in informal science venues such as museums and nature preserves. I have taught as an environmental educator at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO, and as a science educator at Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences in Peoria, IL.