My dissertation research focused on species boundaries and the manner in which hybridizing species maintain their integrity. This topic is of critical interest because of the central role reproductive isolation plays in evolution, conservation biology, and species interactions. To investigate these questions, I carried out studies of reproductive isolation in the Louisiana irises, a group that consists of three frequently hybridizing species and a fourth that is presumed to be of hybrid origin. Darwin and others have suggested that a plant’s own pollen will perform in a superior manner when compared to pollen from other species, such that fertilization by interspecific pollen will be inhibited when the two types are in competition. I performed a series of studies of pollen tube growth phenomena to assess their importance as isolating mechanisms in the Louisiana irises (Carney et al. 1994, 1996; Carney and Arnold 1997). Results from these studies indicated that both pollen tube growth rate and pollen tube attrition act to isolate the species in question and prevent homogenization of the species.
The Louisiana Irises
Iris Photos courtesey of Mark Bulger at The University of Georgia.
The Carney Lab
Last Updated 8/27/01 by Shanna Carney.
secarney@lamar.colostate.edu
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