Congratulations to Matt Abbott (Ph.D. Student with Dr. Brewer) on his new publication in PLoS One – “Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia rosea) Dieback and Partial Community Disassembly following Experimental Storm Surge in a Coastal Pitcher Plant Bog” http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0125475. This study, co-authored by Loretta Battaglia, was part of Matt’s masters thesis research at Southern Illinois. Using experimental addition of saline water to a coastal bog community (a freshwater wetland), they found that most plant species were resilient to the addition of saline water, but the purple pitcher plant was not and experienced significant dieback. Coastal pitcher plant bogs therefore may not be able to fully recover from storm surges that are expected to increase in frequency with climate change.
Matt has also been successful in getting funding for his current Ph.D. research on carnivorous plants, including $5000 from the Garden Club of America, $1000 from the Society for Wetland Scientists, and $700 from Sigma Xi. Keep up the good work, Matt!
