North Pacific Stepping Stones: Past, Present, and Future Linkages between the Floras of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska

Project ID: P18AC00469

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: Western Washington University

Fiscal Year: 2018

Initial Funding: $74,746

Total Funding: $223,820

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Biological

Principal Investigator: DeChaine, Eric

Agreement Technical Representative: Neitlich, Peter

Abstract: The objective of this Agreement is to document the diversity and distribution of the flora across the North Pacific Stepping Stones (Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, and Kamchatka), focusing on those species that are rare and/or important to the indigenous peoples of the region. The Aleutian Islands are suspected of providing an important dispersal corridor across the North Pacific. The present flora, however, is inadequately documented and thus the processes governing the past and potential future of plant distributions across the bioregion remain uncertain. Through this project, we will 1) collect specimens and generate a precisely georeferenced bioregional
collection of plants that will be the basis for taxonomic revisions and ecological or conservation studies, 2) estimate the dispersal history and population structure for plant species across the region through population genetic analyses, and 3) produce species distribution maps for focal taxa geared towards plant ecology and conservation. The core international team of scientists led by Dr. Eric DeChaine at Western Washington University (WWU) has more than 170 combined years of experience working on Beringian botany. The complementary expertise in population genetics, species distribution models, and arctic plants and the availability of resources at WWU and partner institutions will ensure a successful outcome of this project. Such an understanding of species distribution patterns and the processes that affect them are the foundation for management efforts.