Meeting Abstract

76.5  Tuesday, Jan. 6  Evaluating ecological and morphological differences between the endangered Roan Mountain bluet and its common congener, Houstonia purpurea GLENNON, K.L.*; HILL, E.A. ; DONALDSON, J; CHURCH, S.A.; George Washington University; George Washington University; George Washington University kglennon@gwu.edu

The taxonomic status of the federally endangered Roan Mountain Bluet (Houstonia purpurea var. montana) has been controversial for many years. Currently, it is a variety of the common species Houstonia purpurea. The Roan Mountain bluet is undergoing review for continuation of its endangered species status; therefore, it is important to use a variety of data to fully resolve this taxonomic conflict. We evaluated multiple morphological and environmental characteristics of both the Roan Mountain bluet and its congener Houstonia purpurea. We hypothesize that if these two taxa are unique from one another, they will occupy unique habitats and have significant differences in morphological traits. Alternatively if these are not unique taxa we expect there will be a gradient of both morphological and environmental traits. Preliminary results suggest that these two lineages are indeed distinct from one another based on the seven traits we measured. However, there do appear to be morphological intermediates present in 2 populations. These results support the continued protection of the endangered Roan Mountain bluet as well as its distinction from H. purpurea.