| Abstract Detail
Biogeography Perez-Udell, Rachel [1], Udell, Andrew [2], Chang, Shumei [3]. Use of citizen science resources and field survey for understanding the influence of abiotic factors on floral pigmentation in Geranium maculatum (Geraniaceae). Floral pigmentation has a long history of being studied as a trait under selection by various biotic factors, such as pollinators. However, lesser-studied abiotic factors such as precipitation, temperature, and UV-B radiation stress have all been shown to influence floral or leaf pigmentation. Pigmentation in floral traits of Geranium maculatum has geographic variation. Petal color ranges from pale pink to purple, while pollen is either yellow or purple. We use two methods to survey floral variation in this species across its range. Then, we use supervised machine learning to access how well 19 bioclimatic variables, 6 UV-B variables, water holding capacity of the soil, elevation, latitude, and longitude predict petal and pollen color. We compare geographic variation in floral pigmentation at the population and regional levels.
Citizen science data, including occurrence records and species photographs, are found in abundance due to easy-to-use resources such as iNaturalist.org. While traditional field studies to survey plant populations can be hindered by obstacles such as cost, travel, inclement weather, and short bloom times, aggregation of citizen science data can be used to greatly increase the range of phenotypic data, including floral pigmentation, for ecological studies. By combining traditional fieldwork with the use of citizen science photographs we explore how these two methods can be used in tandem to better understand geographic variation in floral pigmentation. We address abiotic factors important to predicting floral pigmentation in G. maculatum.
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1 - University of Georgia, Plant BIology, 120 Carlton Street, Athens, GA, 30602, United States
2 - University of Georgia, 120 Carlton Street, Athens, GA, 30602, United States
3 - University Of Georgia, Plant Biology, 120 Carlton St. , Athens, GA, 30602, United States
Keywords:
geranium
floral traits
flower color
Morphological variation
Citizen science.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: BIOGII, BIOGEOGRAPHY II
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Time: 11:15 AM(EDT)
Number: BIOGII006
Abstract ID:788
Candidate for Awards:None |
