University of Texas at Tyler Scholar Works at UT Tyler Biology Theses Biology Spring 2015 Distinguishing the Neches River Rose Mallow, Hibiscus Dasycalyx, from its Congeners Using DNA Sequence Data and Niche Modeling Methods Melody P. Sain Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/biology_grad Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Sain, Melody P., "Distinguishing the Neches River Rose Mallow, Hibiscus Dasycalyx, from its Congeners Using DNA Sequence Data and Niche Modeling Methods" (2015). Biology Theses. Paper 26. http://hdl.handle.net/10950/292 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Biology at Scholar Works at UT Tyler. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholar Works at UT Tyler. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DISTINGUISHING THE NECHES RIVER ROSE MALLOW, HIBISCUS DASYCALYX, FROM ITS CONGENERS USING DNA SEQUENCE DATA AND NICHE MODELING METHODS by MELODY P. SAIN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Biology Joshua Banta, Ph.D., Committee Chair College of Arts and Sciences The University of Texas at Tyler June 2015 Acknowledgements I would like to give special thanks to my family for their unconditional support and encouragement throughout my academic career. My parents, Douglas and Bernetrice Sain, have always been at my side anytime that I needed that little extra push when things seemed to be too hard. I would also like to thank my little brother, Cody Sain, in always giving me an extra reason to do my best and for always listening to me when I just needed someone to talk to. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. John S. Placyk, Jr. and Dr. Lance R. Williams, for all of their helpful advice and guidance. Most importantly, a huge thanks to my advisor, Dr. Joshua A. Banta, for always being there any time that I needed him and for providing me with an abundant amount of life long lessons that will aid me in my pursuit of my Ph.D. I would like to acknowledge the funding sources for this project: Texas Parks and Wildlife and US Fish and Wildlife Service. I would like to thank Anna Strong, Minnette Marr, and Entze Chong for help in the field, and thanks to Katherine Barthel for all of her help in the laboratory with genetics work. Last but not least I would like to say thanks to my best friend Kayla Key for help in the field, genetics advice, GIS advice, and mostly for being a great friend and being there with me through this amazing process. Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................ii List of Figures ................................................................................................................ iv Abstract .......................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1 Introduction and General Information .............................................................. 1 Chapter 2 Ecological Niche Modeling ............................................................................. 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 8 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................ 9 Results....................................................................................................................... 13 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 3 Molecular Genetics ....................................................................................... 17 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 17 Materials and Methods .............................................................................................. 19 Results....................................................................................................................... 21 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 4 Concluding Remarks and Synthesis ............................................................... 23 References ..................................................................................................................... 24 Appendix A. Tables ....................................................................................................... 30 Appendix B. Figures...................................................................................................... 49 i List of Tables Table 1. A comprehensive list of occurrence data used in ecological niche modeling for H. dasycalyx, H. laevis, and H. moscheutos. .................................................................. 30 Table 2. Environmental variables used to generate ecological niche models for the three Hibiscus species. ........................................................................................................... 32 Table 3. The unique characteristic that had the most contribution, within each environmental variable, in producing the ecological niche model for each Hibiscus species. .......................................................................................................................... 33 Table 4. Observed I values and 5% critical values for ecological niche differentiation. .. 34 Table 5. Unique geological characteristic of primary rock type with corresponding ID value shown in Maxent response curves for most important geologic characteristic. ...... 34 Table 6. Unique landcover type with corresponding ID value shown in response curves produced by Maxent. ..................................................................................................... 35 Table 7. Unique soil characteristics with corresponding ID value shown in response curves produced by Maxent. .......................................................................................... 37 Table 8. Location data for tissue samples used in the GBSSI gene analyses of H. dasycalyx, H. laevis, and H. moscheutos. ...................................................................... 46 Table 9. GBSSI amplification (Amp) and sequencing (Seq) primers used in this study. 48 Table 10. Interspecific sequence divergence values for the intron region of the nuclear GBSSI gene for the three Hibiscus species. ................................................................... 48 ii Table 11. Intraspecific sequence divergence values for the intron region of the nuclear GBSSI gene for the three Hibiscus species. ................................................................... 48 iii List of Figures Figure 1. H. dasycalyx known historic counties in East Texas including Cherokee, Houston, and Trinity Counties. ...................................................................................... 49 Figure 2. Ecological niche model for H. dasycalyx produced by Maxent. Detailed locality data in Table 1. .............................................................................................................. 50 Figure 3. H. dasycalyx jackknife of test gain produced from Maxent for ecological niche model. ........................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 4. H. dasycalyx geological response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific geological features. ............................................... 52 Figure 5. H. dasycalyx landcover response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific landcover features. ................................................ 53 Figure 6. H. dasycalyx soil response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific soil features........................................................... 54 Figure 7. Ecological niche model for H. laevis produced by Maxent. ............................. 55 Figure 8. H. laevis jackknife of test gain produced from Maxent for ecological niche model. ........................................................................................................................... 56 Figure 9. H. laevis geological response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific geological features. ............................................... 57 Figure 10. H. laevis landcover response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific landcover features. ................................................ 58 iv Figure 11. H. laevis soil response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific soil features. ........................................................................... 59 Figure 12. Ecological niche model for H. moscheutos produced by Maxent. .................. 60 Figure 13. H. moscheutos jackknife of test gain produced from Maxent for ecological niche model. .................................................................................................................. 61 Figure 14. H. moscheutos geological response curve produced by Maxent representing the probability of occurrence at specific geological features.. .......................................