Abstract Detail

Evolution on Islands: a colloquium to honor the careers of Daniel Crawford and Tod Stuessy

Les, Donald [1].

"... bring forth more islands." - 30 years of research on insular plant evolution by D. J. Crawford and T. F. Stuessy.

For three decades, Daniel J. Crawford and Tod F. Stuessy have contributed extraordinary scholarly research on the study of island floras. Much of their career was spent at The Ohio State University (23 and 26 years respectively), where both men combined their expertise to forge an ultra-productive collaboration, which focused on the elucidation of plant evolution on island systems. Their work has involved collaborations with more than 105 scientists from 20 countries. The more than 100 scientific articles on island biology that were authored or co-authored by Dan and/or Tod have appeared in 38 journals, 20 book chapters and one edited volume. About half of these articles represent work co-authored by both scientists. Their island publications have focused mostly on the Juan Fernandez flora (64%), but also have included Macronesia (15%), Ullung (5%), and miscellaneous other islands (4%). Twelve percent of these publications represent more general island research. An unbroken stream of papers on the Juan Fernandez flora appeared from 1982-2007,with 1-8 papers published in each of those consecutive years, peaking with 20 publications within the three-year period from 1992-1994. The impact of this work is evidenced by their 10 most widely cited papers, which have received close to a thousand total citations, or an average of nearly 100 citations each. The breadth of their work is indicated by papers covering 16 different angiosperm families on the Juan Fernandez Islands alone. These studies have employed diverse experimental approaches including phytogeography, reproductive biology, artificial hybridization, chromosome counts, anatomy, embryology, numerical analyses, secondary metabolites (alkaloids, flavonoids, kaurenes, sesquiterpene lactones), allozymes, DNA RFLP/sequencing analyses (cpDNA, nrDNA, AFLP, ISSR, RAPDS), DNA barcoding, and next-generation sequencing to develop microsatellites. It is particularly fitting to honor the achievements of these remarkable scientists with this colloquium, which takes place in the city where both men gained prominence as world experts on oceanic island plants.

Broader Impacts:

1 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 3043, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA

Keywords:
Island floras
plant evolution.

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: C5
Location: Franklin A/Hyatt
Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
Time: 8:30 AM
Number: C5001
Abstract ID:245