Integrative research using digitized specimens: examples from the Consortium of California Herbaria Brent Mishler University and Jepson Herbaria University of California, Berkeley Lucinda McDade Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and Claremont Graduate University

California: Global-scale floristic hot spot Isolated, young Mediterranean climate Pockets of stable, equable climate (refugia) Substrate diversity (e.g., serpentine) Topographic and climatic diversity Source: Precious Heritage (2000) © TNC, NatureServe

New (and final?) print edition of The Jepson Manual (just out, 2012) All taxa are monophyletic, as far as is known Treats smallest known clades - "cryptic diversity" Treats 5253 native species Treats 6500 native minimum-rank taxa (species, subspecies, and varieties) of which 35% are endemic

Jepson Online Interchange

Consortium of California Herbaria Over 1,550,000 specimens searchable through a common interface: started 2003, via funding from California Digital Library, UC system-wide

California Academy of Sciences California Department of Food and Agriculture California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California State University, Chico California State University, San Bernardino Humboldt State University Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG & Pomona College) Riverside County Museum San Diego Natural History Museum San Diego State University San Jose State University Santa Barbara Botanic Garden UC Berkeley (Jepson Herbarium & University Herbarium) UC Davis UC Irvine UC Riverside UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Cruz Yosemite Museum (of Yosemite National Park) Consortium of California Herbaria

Consortium georeferencing progress ,000 specimens georeferenced so far (June, 2012)

typical search return page

BerkeleyMapper application based on Google Maps

The many uses of collections databases: Important practical applications, taking advantage of temporal aspects of collection data: –Climate change modeling –Spatial ecology / mapping historical habitats and landscapes –Tracking the introduction of pathogens and invasive species –Phenology estimates through time Floristics: –Identification of under-collected areas (targeted exploration) and other collection biases (e.g., timing taxon emphasis) –Production of floras, identification tools Systematics: –Discovery of previously undescribed taxa in the collections –Raw material for anatomical and DNA studies Ecology and evolution: –Reconstructing assembly of communities –Biogeography, diversification studies –Assessing biodiversity using new phylogenetic approaches

Herbarium data used to project the effects of climate change Climate Change and the Future of California's Endemic Flora. Scott Loarie, Benjamin E. Carter, Katharine Hayhoe, Sean McMahon, Richard Moe, Charles A. Knight, and David D. Ackerly. PLoS ONE (2008)

Historical ecology study of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta The San Francisco Estuary Institute/Aquatic Science Center, in collaboration with the Department of Fish and Game Specimen data are being used to help develop a clear understanding of what the Delta looked like and how it functioned ecologically and hydrogeomorphically prior to significant Euro-American modification.

Cal IPC Weed mapper project CalWeedMapper enables natural resource managers, scientists, and others to create maps and reports of invasive plant distribution, identify management opportunities in a county, WMA or region and update species observation data.

New application of specimen data Charting the month of peak collection Specimens grouped by month of collection. Blue line indicates flowering time from the second edition of The Jepson Manual