A polymorphism in a population or species is the occurrence of multiple forms of any given trait. One polymorphism of interest in populations of the evening primrose Oenothera harringtonii (pictured) is multiple forms (chemotypes) of floral scent. Why these different chemotypes exist in natural populations is something many Garden scientists have been studying. This project will investigate whether differences in fitness between offspring from parents with the same or different scent chemistry may explain why these different forms of floral scent persist in the wild.

Our intern will spend much of their time in the greenhouse, helping grow and maintain these plants, while learning to measure fitness and floral traits, and collect floral scent. Trait data will need to be recorded, entered, and analyzed, and this intern should expect to receive some training with data analysis in R. There is also the potential to contribute to projects concerning the genetic and genomic basis of floral scent polymorphism in this species.