Angela Jensen and Dr. Leigh Johnson, Department of Biology
Speciation is a scientific “gray area.” Conservation biologists are familiar with the many different proposed definitions for a species, encased in the 10 or so existing species concepts. Individual organisms of the same species are inherently different, possessing a wide variety of characteristics and behaviors. When is an individual a new species? Why does it matter?
Species are the basic units of biodiversity, the units with legal status used to study variation in the environment. My research focused on three groups of plants, which before shared the same species name, Navarretia intertexta. The consistent, morphological differences among the groups, however, merit recognition, and I submit that this species be classified into three distinct species.
The ORCA grant allowed me to dedicate my time and energy into describing two new species in the plant genus Navarretia. My portion of the process involved 1) morphometric analysis; 2) literature review; 3) data analysis, and 4) writing the results for publication.
Morphometric analysis is a quantifiable presentation of differences in physical form. Using specimens from Dr. Leigh Johnson’s recent collections, I studied and catalogued the variety among many individuals of many populations within the current intertexta species. This involved dissecting two flowers from each individual and measuring the characteristics of the corolla, stamens, and pistil. The measurements were tabulated in a spreadsheet and evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and principle components analysis (PCA). Within the currently named species are 2 groups that are consistently different in structure from N. intertexta.
The two new population groups have not previously been named. A review of current literature, especially articles that describe new species, guided me in my research. I learned what was required of scientific journals to publish, what information was essential in describing a new species, and the delicate formatting characteristic to the formality of scientific research.
In order to clearly delimitate the species, I combined my morphometric results with the genetic data gathered by Dr. Johnson. With clear results, I worked directly with Dr. Johnson to write a paper describing our work and presenting our findings. The paper provides quantitative measurements and direct observations that distinguish the populations from each other. We have classified the three populations as Navarretia intertexta, Navarretia porteri, and Navarettia pattersonii.
This project was an invaluable opportunity that allowed me to work through the process of species identification and publication in a scientific journal. I am very grateful to Dr. Johnson for his mentorship and to the ORCA staff for their generous financial support. The willingness of BYU faculty to invest their time, resources, and abundant experience in the personal growth of their undergraduate students is a marvelous example of far-sighted academic stewardship.