The Lupine Project

Drought and heatwave frequency and length will rise as a result of climate change in California, posing a threat to plant growth and thwarting efforts to restore biodiversity. The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes in southern San Luis Obispo County are home to the state and federally listed endangered species, Lupinus nipomensis. This species has a fluctuating interannual population size due to environmental conditions. I am interested in the function of water and temperature stress in development and reproduction in order to inform conservation efforts. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a relatively new field of genomics and conservation in which environmental samples such as soil, air, or water are collected to determine what organisms are there. Microbes (bacteria, fungi, amoebae, and other small creatures) are an easy community to identify with eDNA, and they play an important role in organizing plant communities and assisting in water uptake. Managers frequently choose suitable habitats based on what is visible, and not usually on the presence of invisible microbial communities. eDNA can be a powerful tool for improving conservation by analyzing organisms that are difficult to monitor. While eDNA has been used to detect endangered fish species and monitor watershed health, few studies have involved plants. Microbiome studies to search for facilitative microbes beneficial for plants are a growing area of scientific research. The majority of microbiome-drought-plant relationships and soil inoculum trials have been attempted in agriculture. Because we are seeing unprecedented climate change and mass extinctions of biodiversity, these tactics will help to speed conservation efforts for species other than plants. We anticipate that our species conservation model will not only support present conservation efforts but will also encourage creative ecological management and research in order to protect biodiversity for future generations.