Research Training Program

Tristram Hill
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT

Vicki Funk, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Botany

"A very diverse experience with many opportunities to make a thorough investigation or study some area."

Defining the species Werneria nubigena

In this project, the amount and types of variation within Werneria nubigena, a South and Central American compositae plant, was determined. This involved sorting the available herbarium specimens into regions, localities, and population based on label data, and selecting specimens that represented the entire range of variation. The specimens were measured thoroughly, and the most variable characters (between specimens) were selected for continued measurement within every previously sorted population. With this numerical qualitative data it was ascertained through inspection and statistics whether Werneria nubigena was in fact more than one species of plant, and where previously defined subspecies and varieties fit into the picture. Character frequency bargraphs were made, and principal component and cluster analyses were performed. This led to some preliminary conclusions which further research may corroborate, and upon which Vicki Funk can base future studies. These conclusions suggest that all the variation, except the extremes to the small sizes, comprise a single species.

This research was supported by a grant from the James Smithson Society.