A Paleoecological Test of a Classical Hydrosere in the Lake Michigan Dunes

Aquatic vegetation varies along a chronosequence of dune ponds at Miller Woods, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Submersed and floating-leaved macrophytes dominate the vegetation of the youngest ponds. Older ponds contain mixed assemblages of submersed, floating-leaved, and emergent plant taxa. The oldest ponds are dominated by emergent plants, especially Typha angustifolia. We conducted paleoecological studies at one of the oldest ponds to test the hypothesis that the modern vegetational array along the pond chronosequence represents a hydrarch successional sequence. Macrofossil stratigraphy of the 3000-yr-old pond indicates no significant changes in pond vegetation following early colonization until \u3c 150 BP. Pond vegetation before 150 BP consisted of a diverse assemblage of submersed, floating-leaved, and emergent macrophyte taxa. Pollen and macrofossil data indicate a major, rapid vegetational change at \u3c150 BP, evidently in response to local human disturbance. Pollen data reveal that the extensive Typha stands in the older ponds have developed recently, following postsettlement disturbance. Modern vegetational differences along the chronosequence reflect differential effects of disturbance rather than autogenic hydrarch succession. This study illustrates a major pitfall in inferring successional trends from spatial sequences of vegetation

Paleohydrological implications of Holocene peatland development in northern Michigan

Sediment, pollen, and plant macrofossil stratigraphies from two small oligotrophic Chamaedaphne-Sphagnum peatlands provide data about local hydrologic changes in northern Michigan during the Holocene. Gleason Bog started about 8000 yr B.P. as a shallow pond that supported rich fen vegetation. After it was partly filled with peat and sand (about 4000 yr B.P.), the vegetation changed to oligotrophic bog. At Gates Bog paludification starting about 3800 yr B.P. caused peat accumulation over sand without an initial pond phase. The onset of peat accumulation at both sites is attributed to a rise in the water table resulting from the onset of cool and moist late Holocene climates. The water table of Gleason Bog is linked to the water level of adjacent Douglas Lake, which may have undergone a simultaneous rise. The results emphasize the individuality of hydrological conditions and hydroseral development in northern Michigan peatlands.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26716/1/0000266.pd

The northern limits of glacial lake Algonquin in upper Michigan

A number of ancient shorelines formed by late-Pleistocene proglacial lakes have been found in eastern upper Michigan. These shorelines delimit several water planes, the uppermost of which is correlated with the Main Lake Algonquin stage. This correlation is based on the continuity of the highest water plane with Main Algonquin shorelines in Wisconsin and Ontario, the strength of the shoreline features, its altitudinal relationship with lower water planes, and a reinterpretation of radiocarbon dates from the Sault Ste. Maria area. The isobases of this water plane have a bearing of S75[deg]E. At the time of the maximum extent of Lake Algonquin, ca. 10,600 yr B.P., its northern, ice-limited border lay along the Munising moraine, the northernmost of the two main morainic systems of eastern upper Michigan. This interpretation lends support to the idea of a period of slow deglaciation from ca. 11,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. An ice lobe occupied the central Lake Superior basin until early Holocene time. Radiocarbon dates on wood found beneath till or outwash at several sites indicate a minor ice readvance from the central Lake Superior basin ca. 10,000 yr B.P. If true, this would have prevented the development of the post-Duluth series of glacial lakes in the western Lake Superior basin until ca. 9900 yr B.P., well after the end of the main Lake Algonquin stage.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24386/1/0000656.pd

Phylogenetic Codivergence Supports Coevolution of Mimetic Heliconius Butterflies

The unpalatable and warning-patterned butterflies _Heliconius erato_ and _Heliconius melpomene_ provide the best studied example of mutualistic Müllerian mimicry, thought – but rarely demonstrated – to promote coevolution. Some of the strongest available evidence for coevolution comes from phylogenetic codivergence, the parallel divergence of ecologically associated lineages. Early evolutionary reconstructions suggested codivergence between mimetic populations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, and this was initially hailed as the most striking known case of coevolution. However, subsequent molecular phylogenetic analyses found discrepancies in phylogenetic branching patterns and timing (topological and temporal incongruence) that argued against codivergence. We present the first explicit cophylogenetic test of codivergence between mimetic populations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, and re-examine the timing of these radiations. We find statistically significant topological congruence between multilocus coalescent population phylogenies of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_, supporting repeated codivergence of mimetic populations. Divergence time estimates, based on a Bayesian coalescent model, suggest that the evolutionary radiations of _H. erato_ and _H. melpomene_ occurred over the same time period, and are compatible with a series of temporally congruent codivergence events. This evidence supports a history of reciprocal coevolution between Müllerian co-mimics characterised by phylogenetic codivergence and parallel phenotypic change

An examination of the habitat preferences of two shrubby maples, Acer pensylvanicum and Acer spicatum.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/52986/1/1419.pdfDescription of 1419.pdf : Access restricted to on-site users at the U-M Biological Station

The Distribution and Ecology of Phyllitis scolopendrium in Michigan

Volume: 70Start Page: 81End Page: 8