Above: One of the hypotheses we're testing is that Dudley's Lousewort is dispersed by banana slugs. Here a slug consumes a mature flower.
|
With funding from Save the Redwoods League, and in collaboration with the Portola and Castle Rock Foundation, we are currently studying a rare redwood understory wildflower called Dudley's Lousewort (Pedicularis dudleyi). Our current studies focus on the population genetic structure, dispersal ecology and pollination biology of the species. In understanding these basic facets of life history, we're hoping to provide actionable information to land managers that are working to protect this imperiled species.
We're using a combination of high tech (ddRad genomics & remote video capture) with classical observation methods to study these plants, which only occur in two places on earth- in and around Portola Redwoods State Park and along the Little Sur River in Monterey County. Below, Bombus edwardsii, a native bumble bee pollinates Dudley's Lousewort. |