Research Training Program

Maya Strahl
Berry College
Mount Berry, Georgia

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

"My research project and the tours of the Museum have helped me learn a lot more about plant and animal diversity and I'll be returning to college with a whole new perspective on research."

Seeking to Uncover the Evolution and Distribution
of a Plant Group in the Sunflower Family

Millions of years of erosion have worn down the Guiana Shield, a high-elevation sandstone plateau in northeastern South America, from a continuous plateau into a number of isolated flat-topped mountains, called tepuis. As the plateau eroded, plants growing there became isolated and scattered thereby affecting how they evolved. This research studied plants found on these tepuis from the sunflower family, and specifically those in the group call the Mutisieae. Using modern analytical methods including branching diagrams (similar to family trees) and computer generated distribution maps (maps that show where the different plants grow) the evolutionary history of the Mutisieae was charted. The results showed that one group of plants is found mostly in the eastern tepuis whereas another is found mostly in the western tepuis. The family tree also revealed that the plants separate into two groups, suggesting that the erosion of the Shield, in addition to climate and rainfall, may have caused the Mutisieae to evolve into two different groups.

This research was supported by a grant from NMNH Office of the Director.

Letter of gratitude