Plant Conservation in a Changing World
Online/Virtual
Faced with a changing climate, plants may respond via plasticity, such as by altering phenology (timing of flowering, leaf break, etc.).? Over time, plants may either adapt to the new climatic conditions, migrate to regions where climatic conditions are more suitable, or go extinct locally or globally.? Phenological shifts are well documented in many plant species, with most of the species studied exhibiting earlier leaf break and flowering in response to warming temperatures.? Some studies have found that phenology changes in plants are better explained by temperature than in animals, suggesting there may be phenological mismatches between plants and their pollinators and seed dispersal agents as the climate changes which could affect reproduction.? Scientists at the Chicago Botanic Garden are working with a cadre of citizen scientists to monitor rare plant abundances through the Plants of Concern program and determine if climate and other threats are affecting distributions of rare plants.? We also partner on another citizen science program called Project BudBurst that documents at phenological shifts in plants across the country.
Speaker: Dr. Kay Havens - Senior Scientist, Director of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation at?The?Chicago?Botanic Gardens
Kay Havens holds a B.S. and an M.A. in Botany from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in Biology from Indiana University.? She spent three years as the Conservation Biologist at Missouri Botanical Garden before joining the Chicago Botanic Garden in April 1997.? She is currently the Garden?s Director of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation and Senior Scientist.? Her research interests include the effects of climate change on plant species, restoration genetics, the biology of plant rarity and invasiveness.? She is on the adjunct faculty of Loyola University, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois-Chicago and collaborates with a variety of academic institutions and stewardship organizations to help improve conservation efforts for plants