LE3 .A278 2019

2019

Walker, Allison

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Geum peckii Pursh (Rosaceae) is a rare and endangered herbaceous perennial found to exist in only two places worldwide including the White Mountains of New Hampshire and among the coastal bogs of Brier Island and Harris Lake, Digby County, Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia population was reported in 2010 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) to show a 64% decline in mature individuals since 1986. Acadia University seed bank houses collections of G. peckii seeds for ex situ conservation strategies to study the plant outside its natural environment in a controlled setting. Furthermore, research has observed using mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to inoculate seed bank specimens to improve establishment of outplanting material and help with recovery strategies. G. peckii was outplanted to a coastal peatland in 2016 and underwent the following three treatments: commercial mycorrhizal inoculant, native Brier Island mycorrhizal inoculant, and a sterile non-inoculated control (Fancy, 2017). Plants from the ex situ population of G. peckii in Balancing Rock bog on Long Island, Digby County were extracted from their respective site locations for further analysis while plant roots were sampled from a separate population located at the K.C Irving Environmental Science Centre (K.C.I.C. .). Plant roots were stained, and AMF was observed to determine per cent root AMF colonization. The rDNA from root and AMF was amplified using AMF specific primer sets to identify species of fungi colonizing G. peckii. Colonization counts showed a range of 40-49% AMF colonized root length of G. peckii in the Balancing Rock bog. Data obtained through DNA barcoding showed that all rosettes sampled at the K.C.I.C.. population contained AMF and a potentially new Dominikia (Glomeraceae) species. All plants collected from Balancing Rock bog contained AMF, but samples were not successfully sequenced. While AMF associations have been noted before in this plant host, to our understanding, this is the first time that AMF species have ever been identified colonizing Geum peckii, and the first time they have been confirmed in an ex situ population located in a peatland bog. This information will hopefully help to streamline future studies and recovery strategies.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3260