Research
The WIN Database
As a member of Canadensys, a Canada wide consortium of universities, botanical gardens, and museums that are dedicated to unlocking biodiversity information in research collections, we are digitizing the collections in the University of Manitoba Vascular Plant Herbarium. To date we have captured over 26,000 specimen records, most of which are georeferenced and linked to high-resolution images. Our data are accessible through Canadensys and GBIF.
Click below for tips on navigating these sites:
As a member of Canadensys, a Canada wide consortium of universities, botanical gardens, and museums that are dedicated to unlocking biodiversity information in research collections, we are digitizing the collections in the University of Manitoba Vascular Plant Herbarium. To date we have captured over 26,000 specimen records, most of which are georeferenced and linked to high-resolution images. Our data are accessible through Canadensys and GBIF.
Click below for tips on navigating these sites:
| tips_for_navigating_gbif_and_canadensys.pdf |
Flora of North America
The Flora of North America is a 30-volume book (published by Oxford University Press) and electronic database (housed at the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO) covering some 20,000 species of plants, about 7% of the world’s total. When completed, the Flora will be the definitive treatment of the plant diversity of North America north of Mexico. It will summarize our current knowledge of species, their relationships, characteristics, and distributions and serve as a standard identification resource. The University of Manitoba Herbarium serves as a review centre for all manuscripts covering species from western Canada and routinely loans specimens to authors of various species treatments.
The Flora of North America is a 30-volume book (published by Oxford University Press) and electronic database (housed at the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO) covering some 20,000 species of plants, about 7% of the world’s total. When completed, the Flora will be the definitive treatment of the plant diversity of North America north of Mexico. It will summarize our current knowledge of species, their relationships, characteristics, and distributions and serve as a standard identification resource. The University of Manitoba Herbarium serves as a review centre for all manuscripts covering species from western Canada and routinely loans specimens to authors of various species treatments.
The Arctic Flora of Canada and Alaska
The Arctic Flora of Canada and Alaska aims to produce a flora for all vascular plants in the Arctic ecozone in Canada and northern Alaska. The Arctic Flora will eventually serve as the reference tool for anybody who requires accurate and up-to-date information on Arctic plant species, needs or wants to identify Arctic plants in the field or herbarium, or wants to know a little bit more about the amazing plant biodiversity in the land of little sticks -- North America's most climate-threatened ecosystem. The project is being led by researchers at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and the research team includes scientists from Canada, Alaska and Norway.
The Arctic Flora of Canada and Alaska aims to produce a flora for all vascular plants in the Arctic ecozone in Canada and northern Alaska. The Arctic Flora will eventually serve as the reference tool for anybody who requires accurate and up-to-date information on Arctic plant species, needs or wants to identify Arctic plants in the field or herbarium, or wants to know a little bit more about the amazing plant biodiversity in the land of little sticks -- North America's most climate-threatened ecosystem. The project is being led by researchers at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and the research team includes scientists from Canada, Alaska and Norway.
Flora of Wapusk National Park, Manitoba
From 2002-2010 we conducted an inventory of the diversity of vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, lichens, and fungi associated with tidal flats, salt marshes, coastal fens, and beach ridges in Wapusk National Park. Our inventory documented the floristic characteristics of these habitats as a basis for conservation planning in the face of climate change and an increase in human visitation. It also provided baseline data on the distribution and status of species, some of which are rare or at risk. Over 5,000 collections were made during our eight-summers of field work, increasing the total number of records from the Hudson Bay region in WIN to nearly 7,000 accessions.
Vascular plant records, along with high-resolution images, are available through GBIF and Canadensys.
Lichen records are also available through GBIF and Canadensys.
From 2002-2010 we conducted an inventory of the diversity of vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, lichens, and fungi associated with tidal flats, salt marshes, coastal fens, and beach ridges in Wapusk National Park. Our inventory documented the floristic characteristics of these habitats as a basis for conservation planning in the face of climate change and an increase in human visitation. It also provided baseline data on the distribution and status of species, some of which are rare or at risk. Over 5,000 collections were made during our eight-summers of field work, increasing the total number of records from the Hudson Bay region in WIN to nearly 7,000 accessions.
Vascular plant records, along with high-resolution images, are available through GBIF and Canadensys.
Lichen records are also available through GBIF and Canadensys.
| tips_for_navigating_gbif_and_canadensys.pdf |
The Sedges of Vietnam
Vietnam possesses the world’s highest concentration of morphologically unusual sedges (Carex). Although Vietnamese species represent a fraction of world sedge diversity (ca. 85 species), they are among the most poorly known and collected of all sedges. However, they may be key to understanding the evolution and radiation of the world’s largest flowering plant genus. In 2012 and 2015, National Geographic Society sponsored expeditions allowed us to explore four national parks (Tam Dao, Mount Bavi, Hoang Lien, Cuc Phuong) and three nature reserves (Van Ban, Du Gia, Bat Dai Son). Sedges were found in the greatest abundance and diversity in the granitic mountainous regions of northern Vietnam. Phylogenetic studies, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Julian Starr, University of Ottawa, have revealed major new lineages within the genus that are dominated by these morphologically unusual species. Ongoing studies are focused on increasing species and gene sampling for phylogenetic analyses and revising the taxonomy of the Vietnamese and Indochinese sedge flora.
Vietnam possesses the world’s highest concentration of morphologically unusual sedges (Carex). Although Vietnamese species represent a fraction of world sedge diversity (ca. 85 species), they are among the most poorly known and collected of all sedges. However, they may be key to understanding the evolution and radiation of the world’s largest flowering plant genus. In 2012 and 2015, National Geographic Society sponsored expeditions allowed us to explore four national parks (Tam Dao, Mount Bavi, Hoang Lien, Cuc Phuong) and three nature reserves (Van Ban, Du Gia, Bat Dai Son). Sedges were found in the greatest abundance and diversity in the granitic mountainous regions of northern Vietnam. Phylogenetic studies, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Julian Starr, University of Ottawa, have revealed major new lineages within the genus that are dominated by these morphologically unusual species. Ongoing studies are focused on increasing species and gene sampling for phylogenetic analyses and revising the taxonomy of the Vietnamese and Indochinese sedge flora.
Orchid Research
Drs. Anne Worley and Bruce Ford are studying the population biology of the globally endangered small white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium candidum), the common yellow lady’s slipper (C. parviflorum) and putative hybrids between these species. Research on the reproductive biology of these taxa, and the influence of the surrounding floral community on hybridization and reproductive success, rely on the collections in WIN for the identification of co-flowering species and for housing vouchers associated with their research.
Drs. Anne Worley and Bruce Ford are studying the population biology of the globally endangered small white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium candidum), the common yellow lady’s slipper (C. parviflorum) and putative hybrids between these species. Research on the reproductive biology of these taxa, and the influence of the surrounding floral community on hybridization and reproductive success, rely on the collections in WIN for the identification of co-flowering species and for housing vouchers associated with their research.
Recent publications
CUI, H., L. ZHANG , B. FORD, H-L. CHENG , J. A. MACKLIN , A. REZNICEK , J. STARR. 2020. Measurement Recorder: developing a useful tool for making species descriptions that produces computable phenotypes. Database 2020: baaa079. https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baaa079
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., B-H. CHEN, M-È. GARON-LABRECQUE, B. A. FORD, and J. R. STARR. 2020. RAD sequencing resolves the phylogeny, taxonomy and biogeography of Trichophoreae despite a rapid recent radiation (Cyperaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 145: 106727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106727
VILLAVERDE, T., P. JIMÉNEZ-MEJÍAS, M. LUCEÑO, M. J. WATERWAY, S. KIM. B. LEE, M. RINCÓN-BARRADO, M. HAHN, E. MAGUILLA, E. H. ROALSON, A. L. HIPP; and THE GLOBAL CAREX GROUP: M. ESCUDERO, B. A. FORD, S. GEBAUER, M. H. HOFFMANN, I. LARRIDON, S. MARTÍN-BRAVO, R. F. C. NACZI, J. PARK, A. A. REZNICEK, D. A. SIMPSON, J. R. STARR, and K. L. WILSON. 2020. A new classification of Carex (Cyperaceae) subgenera supported by a HybSeq backbone phylogenetic tree. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 194: 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boaa042
ZHANG, L., H. CUI, B. FORD, H-L. CHENG. J. MACKLIN, A. REZNICEK, and J. STARR. 2020. Enabling Authors to Produce Computable Phenotype Measurements: Usability Studies on the Measurement Recorder. In: Stephanidis C., M. Antona, and S. Ntoa (eds), HCI International 2020 – Late Breaking Posters. HCII 2020. Communications in Computer and Information Science 1293: 288-296. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60700-5_37
GRANTHAM, M. A., B. A. FORD, and A. C. WORLEY, 2019. Pollination and fruit set in two rewardless slipper orchids and their hybrids (Cypripedium, Orchidaceae): large yellow flowers outperform small white flowers in the northern tall grass prairie. Plant Biology 21: 997-1007. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13026
MARTÍN‐BRAVO, S., P. JIMÉNEZ‐MEJÍAS, T. VILLAVERDE, M. ESCUDERO, M. HAHN, D. SPALINK, E. H. ROALSON, A. L. HIPP, and the GLOBAL CAREX GROUP (C. BENÍTEZ‐BENÍTEZ, L. P. BRUEDERLE, E. FITZEK, B. A. FORD, K. A. FORD, M. GARNER, S. GEBAUER, M. H. HOFFMANN, X‐F. JIN, I. LARRIDON, É. LÉVEILLÉ‐BOURRET ,Y‐F. LU, M. LUCEÑO, E. MAGUILLA, J. I. MÁRQUEZ‐CORROL, M. MÍGUEZ, R. NACZI, A. A. REZNICEK, and J. R. STARR). 2019. A tale of worldwide success: Behind the scenes of Carex (Cyperaceae) biogeography and diversification. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 57: 695-718. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12549
STARR J. R, É. LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, A. T VŨ., T. K. T. NGUYÊN, and B. A. FORD. 2019. The rediscovery of the rare Vietnamese endemic Eriophorum scabriculme redefines generic limits in the Scirpo-Caricoid Clade (Cyperaceae). PeerJ 7:e7538. http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7538
CUI, H., J. MACKLIN, J. SACHS, A. REZNICEK, J. STARR, B. FORD, L. PENEV, and H.-L. CHEN. 2018. Incentivising use of structured language in biological descriptions: Author-driven phenotype data and ontology production. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e29616. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e29616
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., J. R. STARR, and B. A. FORD. 2018. A revision of Sumatroscirpus (Sumatroscirpeae), with discussions on Southeast Asian biogeography, general collecting, and homologues with Carex (Cariceae, Cyperaceae). Systematic Botany 43: 510-531. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364418X697247
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., J. R. STARR, and B. A. FORD. 2018. Why are there so many sedges? Sumatroscirpeae, a missing piece in the evolutionary puzzle of the giant genus Carex (Cyperaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 119: 93-104. . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.10.025
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., J. R. STARR, B. A. FORD, E. M. LEMMON, and A. R. LEMMON. 2018. Resolving rapid radiations within angiosperm families using anchored phylogenomics. Systematic Biology 67: 94-112. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syx050
FORD, B. A., J. R. STARR, T. K. NGUYỄN, and A. T. VŨ. 2017. Two extraordinary new pseudopetiolate Carex species from Vietnam (sect. Hemiscaposae, Cyperaceae). Systematic Botany 42: 402-417. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364417X695998
KUZMINA, M. L, T. W. A. BRAUKMANN, A. J. FAZEKAS, S. W. GRAHAM, S. L. DEWAARD, A. RODRIGUES, B. A. BENNETT, T. A. DICKINSON, J. M. SAARELA, P. M. CATLING, S. G. NEWMASTER, D. M. PERCY, E. FENNEMAN, A. LAURON-MOREAU, B. FORD, L. GILLESPIE, R. SUBRAMANYAM, J. WHITTON, L. JENNINGS, D. METSGER, C. P. WARNE, A. BROWN, E. SEARS, J. R. DEWAARD, E. V. ZAKHAROV, and P. D. N. HEBERT. 2017. Using herbarium-derived DNAs to assemble a large-scale DNA barcode library for the vascular plants of Canada. Applications in Plant Sciences 5 (1700079). https://doi.org/10.3732/apps.1700079
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., B-H. CHEN, M-È. GARON-LABRECQUE, B. A. FORD, and J. R. STARR. 2020. RAD sequencing resolves the phylogeny, taxonomy and biogeography of Trichophoreae despite a rapid recent radiation (Cyperaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 145: 106727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106727
VILLAVERDE, T., P. JIMÉNEZ-MEJÍAS, M. LUCEÑO, M. J. WATERWAY, S. KIM. B. LEE, M. RINCÓN-BARRADO, M. HAHN, E. MAGUILLA, E. H. ROALSON, A. L. HIPP; and THE GLOBAL CAREX GROUP: M. ESCUDERO, B. A. FORD, S. GEBAUER, M. H. HOFFMANN, I. LARRIDON, S. MARTÍN-BRAVO, R. F. C. NACZI, J. PARK, A. A. REZNICEK, D. A. SIMPSON, J. R. STARR, and K. L. WILSON. 2020. A new classification of Carex (Cyperaceae) subgenera supported by a HybSeq backbone phylogenetic tree. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 194: 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boaa042
ZHANG, L., H. CUI, B. FORD, H-L. CHENG. J. MACKLIN, A. REZNICEK, and J. STARR. 2020. Enabling Authors to Produce Computable Phenotype Measurements: Usability Studies on the Measurement Recorder. In: Stephanidis C., M. Antona, and S. Ntoa (eds), HCI International 2020 – Late Breaking Posters. HCII 2020. Communications in Computer and Information Science 1293: 288-296. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60700-5_37
GRANTHAM, M. A., B. A. FORD, and A. C. WORLEY, 2019. Pollination and fruit set in two rewardless slipper orchids and their hybrids (Cypripedium, Orchidaceae): large yellow flowers outperform small white flowers in the northern tall grass prairie. Plant Biology 21: 997-1007. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13026
MARTÍN‐BRAVO, S., P. JIMÉNEZ‐MEJÍAS, T. VILLAVERDE, M. ESCUDERO, M. HAHN, D. SPALINK, E. H. ROALSON, A. L. HIPP, and the GLOBAL CAREX GROUP (C. BENÍTEZ‐BENÍTEZ, L. P. BRUEDERLE, E. FITZEK, B. A. FORD, K. A. FORD, M. GARNER, S. GEBAUER, M. H. HOFFMANN, X‐F. JIN, I. LARRIDON, É. LÉVEILLÉ‐BOURRET ,Y‐F. LU, M. LUCEÑO, E. MAGUILLA, J. I. MÁRQUEZ‐CORROL, M. MÍGUEZ, R. NACZI, A. A. REZNICEK, and J. R. STARR). 2019. A tale of worldwide success: Behind the scenes of Carex (Cyperaceae) biogeography and diversification. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 57: 695-718. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12549
STARR J. R, É. LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, A. T VŨ., T. K. T. NGUYÊN, and B. A. FORD. 2019. The rediscovery of the rare Vietnamese endemic Eriophorum scabriculme redefines generic limits in the Scirpo-Caricoid Clade (Cyperaceae). PeerJ 7:e7538. http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7538
CUI, H., J. MACKLIN, J. SACHS, A. REZNICEK, J. STARR, B. FORD, L. PENEV, and H.-L. CHEN. 2018. Incentivising use of structured language in biological descriptions: Author-driven phenotype data and ontology production. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e29616. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e29616
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., J. R. STARR, and B. A. FORD. 2018. A revision of Sumatroscirpus (Sumatroscirpeae), with discussions on Southeast Asian biogeography, general collecting, and homologues with Carex (Cariceae, Cyperaceae). Systematic Botany 43: 510-531. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364418X697247
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., J. R. STARR, and B. A. FORD. 2018. Why are there so many sedges? Sumatroscirpeae, a missing piece in the evolutionary puzzle of the giant genus Carex (Cyperaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 119: 93-104. . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.10.025
LÉVEILLÉ-BOURRET, É., J. R. STARR, B. A. FORD, E. M. LEMMON, and A. R. LEMMON. 2018. Resolving rapid radiations within angiosperm families using anchored phylogenomics. Systematic Biology 67: 94-112. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syx050
FORD, B. A., J. R. STARR, T. K. NGUYỄN, and A. T. VŨ. 2017. Two extraordinary new pseudopetiolate Carex species from Vietnam (sect. Hemiscaposae, Cyperaceae). Systematic Botany 42: 402-417. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364417X695998
KUZMINA, M. L, T. W. A. BRAUKMANN, A. J. FAZEKAS, S. W. GRAHAM, S. L. DEWAARD, A. RODRIGUES, B. A. BENNETT, T. A. DICKINSON, J. M. SAARELA, P. M. CATLING, S. G. NEWMASTER, D. M. PERCY, E. FENNEMAN, A. LAURON-MOREAU, B. FORD, L. GILLESPIE, R. SUBRAMANYAM, J. WHITTON, L. JENNINGS, D. METSGER, C. P. WARNE, A. BROWN, E. SEARS, J. R. DEWAARD, E. V. ZAKHAROV, and P. D. N. HEBERT. 2017. Using herbarium-derived DNAs to assemble a large-scale DNA barcode library for the vascular plants of Canada. Applications in Plant Sciences 5 (1700079). https://doi.org/10.3732/apps.1700079
