New Insights on Hybridization in Potamogeton Floridanus (the Florida pondweed))

Author

Kaitlyn R. Sampson, University of South AlabamaFollow

Date of Award

7-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Committee Chair

Laura A. Frost

Advisor(s)

Jeremiah Henning, Steven Schultze

Abstract

Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most important and highest threatened habitats in the world, and aquatic plants play an important, but often-overlooked, role in maintaining them. Potamogeton is a diverse and ecologically important aquatic plant genus well known for taxonomic difficulty and rampant hybridization. lbis study aimed to 1) test the hypothesis that Potamogeton jloridanus (Florida pondweed) is a hybrid between P. oakesianus and P. pulcher, and 2) to investigate correlations in ecological conditions for the focal species. This study revealed the discovery of a new population of P. jloridanus in Big Coldwater Creek in Santa Rosa Co., FL, and ruled out a suggested population in Baldwin Co., AL as P. jloridanus. In addition, it is the first to estimate the crown age for Potamogeton (1.6266 My). The hypothesis that P. jloridanus is a hybrid, and that the hybridization event likely occurred in the Pleistocene was supported by a combination of molecular methodologies. lbis study has begun to outline ecological variables that could be important for understanding the distributions of the focal species. Ultimately, this study highlights how aquatic plant biodiversity can be underestimated even in biodiversity hotspots and outlines the need for molecular and ecological sampling to resolve taxonomy and habitat preferences in Potamogeton.

Recommended Citation

Sampson, Kaitlyn R., "New Insights on Hybridization in Potamogeton Floridanus (the Florida pondweed))" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 199.
https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/theses_diss/199