Jasmine Janes, Postdoctoral fellow
 |
I obtained my Bachelor of Science majoring in both Plant Science and Zoology from the University of Tasmania (Australia). I was awarded First Class Honours in Plant Science for my research into the effects of climate change on native lowland grassland community composition. It was at this time that I was offered the opportunity to pursue my passion for orchids and my strong interest in systematics, population genetics and ecology under the supervision of Associate Professor René Vaillancourt and Dr Dorothy Steane. My Ph.D. research focused on the Subtribe Pterostylidinae (Orchidaceae) and investigated their ecology, phylogenetics and population level genetic variation with the aim of providing taxonomic resolution, clear circumscription and conservation management recommendations. Since then I have held positions within the Tasmanian Threatened Species Section (Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment), the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and the School of Plant Science (University of Tasmania) before making the big move to Canada and the University of Alberta.
Research Interests
My research interests are quite broad and I firmly believe in a marriage of disciplines in my approach to answering research questions. For example, one cannot hope to answer a complex molecular research question without investigating or posessing a good understanding of the ecological processes driving selection within a population or species. As such, my research interests span the disciplines of ecology, evolutionary biology, systematics and molecular ecology and evolution. The following areas are of particular interest:
Coevolution and complex species interactions, systematics, orchidology, the use of species as indicators for climate change and assessment of forest health, species specific interactions (i.e. pollination, mycorrhizal associations, symbiotic relationships) and the potential for speciation, hybrid zones and conservation genetics.
Current Research
My current research focuses on the population genomics of the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). The Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) is a biologically complex, economically and ecologically important insect in North America. This particular bark beetle forms symbiotic relationships with pathogenic blue-stain fungi of the ophiostomatoid group and parasitic relationships with pine trees (Pinus spp.) in order to complete their life cycle. Typically, MPB has had a cyclic life history with periods of eruptive outbreak followed by periods of reduced numbers in remnant populations. However, in recent years eruptive outbreaks have been of higher density and intensity in areas of previously unoccupied forest. These changes in MPB biology have serious consequences for the ecology and economy of Canada’s pine forests.
More specifically, I work within the TRIA Project to develop and analyse single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can assist in identifying specific genes subject to selective pressures (i.e. signatures of selection). These signatures of selection can reveal the response of genetic variation to selective pressures on cold tolerance, for example, at a population or landscape level and provide insight into the evolutionary processes at work within the Mountain Pine Beetle system.
Select Publications
Osanai Y, Flittner A, Janes JK, Theobald P, Pendall E, Newton PCD, Hovenden MJ (2011). Decomposition and nitrogen transformation rates in a temperate grassland vary among co-occurring plant species. Plant and Soil, Online First DOI: 10.1007/s11104-011-0920-x
Janes JK, Duretto MF (2010). Pterostylis mystacina (D.L.Jones) Janes & Duretto, a new combination in Orchidaceae. Austrobaileya, 8:2, 221-222.
Janes JK, Steane DA, Vaillancourt RE (2010). Ecological requirements and niche partitioning of Pterostylidinae (Orchidaceae) species. Australian Journal of Botany, 58, 335-341. Impact factor 1.459.
Janes JK, Steane DA, Vaillancourt RE, Duretto MF (2010). A molecular phylogeny of the subtribe Pterostylidinae (Orchidaceae): resolving the taxonomic confusion. Australian Systematic Botany, 23:4, 248-259. Impact factor 1.351.
Janes JK, Duretto MF (2010). A new classification for subtribe Pterostylidinae (Orchidaceae), reaffirming Pterostylis R.Br. in the broad sense. Australian Systematic Botany, 23:4, 260-269. Impact factor 1.351.
Janes JK (2009). Techniques for Tasmanian native orchid germination. Nature Conservation Report 09/1. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmania. Available online: www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/Publications/LJEM-7ULVHD?open.
Hovenden MJ, Newton PCD, Wills KE, Janes JK, Williams AL, Vander Schoor JK, Nolan MJ (2008). Influence of warming on soil water potential controls seedling mortality in perennial but not annual species in a temperate grassland. New Phytologist 180, 143-152. Impact factor 6.03.
Williams AL, Wills KE, Janes JK, Vander Schoor JK, Newton PCD, Hovenden MJ (2007). Warming and freeair CO2 enrichment alter demographics in four co-occurring grassland species. New Phytologist 176:2, 365-374. Impact factor 5.24
|
Last Modified:2011-09-30 |