Host Selection in Harper's Dodder
Disciplines
Botany
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Cuscuta harperi (Harper’s Dodder) is a rare, annual, parasitic vine that can parasitize a number of hosts that grow in shallow soils of rock outcrops. Little River Canyon National Preserve, located near Fort Payne, Alabama, is home to the largest populations of C. harperi on sandstone outcrops. C. harperi’s host preference varies between populations, with some populations parasitizing only a single species; however, the Little River Canyon population is more diverse in its host selection, making it a good population to study differential success across hosts from year to year. This observational study aims to measure patterns in C. harperi host use, survivorship, and reproductive success. Recently germinated C. harperi seedlings were located and marked in Spring 2016, 2017, and 2023 and their initial hosts recorded. Surviving individuals were relocated in late Summer and their reproductive success measured by counting flowers and fruits. Host use and survivorship varied considerably year to year. Survivorship and fecundity data were analyzed against weather data for the studied years to find correlation between host use, survivorship, reproductive success, and weather patterns such as rainfall.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Joel McNeal
Host Selection in Harper's Dodder
Cuscuta harperi (Harper’s Dodder) is a rare, annual, parasitic vine that can parasitize a number of hosts that grow in shallow soils of rock outcrops. Little River Canyon National Preserve, located near Fort Payne, Alabama, is home to the largest populations of C. harperi on sandstone outcrops. C. harperi’s host preference varies between populations, with some populations parasitizing only a single species; however, the Little River Canyon population is more diverse in its host selection, making it a good population to study differential success across hosts from year to year. This observational study aims to measure patterns in C. harperi host use, survivorship, and reproductive success. Recently germinated C. harperi seedlings were located and marked in Spring 2016, 2017, and 2023 and their initial hosts recorded. Surviving individuals were relocated in late Summer and their reproductive success measured by counting flowers and fruits. Host use and survivorship varied considerably year to year. Survivorship and fecundity data were analyzed against weather data for the studied years to find correlation between host use, survivorship, reproductive success, and weather patterns such as rainfall.