I’m a PhD candidate studying the evolutionary ecology of flower color. My work focuses on how floral pigmentation mediates interactions with pollinators, herbivores, and the environment in a group of North American wildflowers called sand verbenas (Abronia and Tripterocalyx).

In this talk, I will explore the ecological and climatic factors shaping floral color variation in Abronia fragrans, a prairie wildflower that exhibits striking white-pink flower color variation across its geographic range. Using a combination of field and greenhouse experiments, as well as climatic analyses, I examine how heritable betalain pigmentation—a nitrogen-containing class of floral pigments—trades off with reproductive investment and relates to herbivory and local environmental conditions.

White-flowered plants generally produced more flowers, yet transplant experiments revealed contrasting ecological pressures across the color transition zone, including differences in seed set, leaf herbivory, and florivory. Pigmentation correlated with regional climate, with higher betalain concentrations found in populations experiencing hotter, wetter summers and milder winters. Together, these results suggest that complex interactions between biotic and abiotic selection pressures contribute to the maintenance of floral color in this species, highlighting the importance of integrating multiple ecological factors to understand the evolution of phenotypic variation.