Projects

Several new bryological research projects are currently getting started at Duke University, with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

• Phylogeny and speciation in Sphagnum section Subsecunda

The project has three major components. The first part involves a global analysis of peatmoss diversity in order to determine if genetic relationships reflect geographic proximity, or structural similarity among plants; that is, have similar morphologies in widely disjunct regions evolved convergently?. The second part of the research investigates ecological, genetic, and morphological variation in a group of closely related species surrounding S. subsecundum s.s. that are widespread in North America, Europe, and Asia.

• NSF-PEET (Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy): Systematics of the Daltoniaceae
  (Collaborative with W. R. Buck, New York Botanical Garden)

The Daltoniaceae are widespread in tropical and Southern Hemisphere regions and include 14 genera and some 215 species. This project will generate species-level monographs at its core, with supporting phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequence data. The project includes funding for post-doc(s), graduate student support and field-work. Dr. Gisela Olivan joined us as a Post-doctoral Associate January-September 2006. Dr. Piers Majestyk joined us as a Post-doctoral Associate in October 2006.
Applications for graduate work at Duke are invited! Perspective graduate student applicants should contact Jon Shaw.

• NSF-ATOL (Assembling the Tree of Life): Phylogeny of liverworts
  [--> LiToL PROJECT WEBSITE]

The project is a comprehensive collaborative investigation of liverwort phylogeny. The research team includes B. Goffinet (University of Connecticut: chloroplast genomics), Y. Qiu (University of Michigan: mitochondrial genomics), K. Renzaglia (Southern Illinois University: ultrastructural morphology), B. Crandall Stotler & R. Stotler (Southern Illinois University: anatomy, morphology, taxonomy), J. Engel & M. von Konrat (Field Museum in Chicago, specimen vouchering, taxonomy, educational outreach), N. Celinese & R. Beaman (Yale University: informatics), J. Shaw (Duke University: nucleotide sequencing). There is support for visitors to the lab who wish to work on liverwort groups of particular interest to them. Contact Jon Shaw if interested.

And for those of you who know her, we are happy to have Sandy Boles returning to the lab to work on the Sphagnum sect. Subsecunda project.

• Moss Diversity Project

• Sphagnum Project

• Hypopterygiaceae Project

• Population genetics in Ceratodon purpureus

• Databasing Southeastern Bryophytes

• Fungal Endophytes in Bryophytes

• Bryophyte Taxonomy

• Checklist of the Mosses of North Carolina

 Shaw Laboratory
 139 Biological Sciences Bldg.
 Box 90338
 Department of Biology
 Duke University
 Durham
 North Carolina 27708
 U.S.A.

 Phone: (+1) 919 660-7345
 Fax: (+1) 919 660-7293