Mathew Sharples, PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder will present “Little stars, big history: ecological lability, floral plasticity, and the
global rise of the starworts (Stellaria L.; Caryophyllaceae)”
My research is guided by the wish to better understand the origins and evolution of the flora of western North America and other mountainous floras worldwide. The carnation family (Caryophyllaceae) comprises numerous cosmopolitan lineages of mountainous and non‐mountainous habitats and thus serves as an excellent model for understanding the evolution of such floras. Utilizing phylogenomic and numerous other data types I explore such questions of origins and evolution in the Caryophyllaceae and
other lineages across intraspecific, interspecific, and intergeneric scales. In parallel I utilize experimental and genetic data to understand floral and breeding system evolution in the carnation family. Evolutionary and ecological studies depend on robust
understandings of numbers and distributions of species, and to this aim I also conduct biodiversity inventories in western North America to fill in current gaps in knowledge as well as to serve as baselines for future comparative studies.
Date: Friday, February 21, 2020
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Sci B 133