Abstract Detail

Systematics Section

Finney, Jack [1], Willyard, Ann [1].

The taxonomic status and relation of the sand hill pines of Santa Cruz County, California to Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Loudon and to P. benthamiana Hartweg .

Outlying populations of ponderosa pine on "sand hills" soils of coastal California have long been recognized as representing an unusual habitat for the species.These pine populations are surrounded by redwood-mixed conifer forests, a highly unusual location for ponderosa pine. Some researchers have also suggested that morphological and biochemical features of the sand hill populations may differ from typical ponderosa. We used multi-locus nuclear and plastid microsatellite (SSR) genotypes and a mitochondrial haplotype from more than 200 individuals to observe variability within and among populations. We compared two populations of sand hill pines from Santa Cruz County, California with nearby samples from the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County and Pine Ridge in Santa Clara County. These coastal populations were then analyzed in relation to samples from inland Northern California (Pacific Race of P. ponderosa var. ponderosa), and with populations representing P. scopulorum, the ponderosa pines of the southern Rockies, and the isolated ponderosa pines of Southern Arizona. We used our results to address the question of whether Hartweg's 1847 collection of P. benthamiana in Santa Cruz County: i) is best used to support just the sand hill pines; ii) is best used to typify the entire range of pines currently treated as the Pacific Race of P. ponderosa; or iii) should remain subsumed within P. ponderosa as currently treated in the Flora of North America.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Hendrix College, Biology Dept, 1600 Washington Ave, Conway, AR, 72032, USA

Keywords:
species delimitation
microsatellite
Phylogeny.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Khorassan Ballroom/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PSY006
Abstract ID:475