This presentation is part of the Cape Perpetua Speaker Series, hosted by the Cape Perpetua Collaborative.
The two dominant beachgrasses of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Ammophila arenaria (European beachgrass) and A. breviligulata (American beachgrass), build tall stable dunes that increase coastal protection but threaten some native animal and plant species. For decades, these intentionally planted but invasive grasses have presented complex tradeoffs to land managers trying to balance conservation and coastal protection. It was recently discovered that these two grass species, which have differential effects on dune shape and native plant diversity, are hybridizing. Rebecca Mostow, a PhD candidate at Oregon State University, will tell the story of how this unexpected discovery was made and explain how you can help map new hybrids and expand our understanding of this unexpected event.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER, REBECCA MOSTOW, PHD CANDIDATE AND NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOW AT OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Rebecca Mostow is a PhD candidate and NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Oregon State University where she is advised by Dr. Sally Hacker. Rebecca’s research on a novel hybrid zone between the non-native beachgrasses Ammophila arenaria and A. breviligulata has earned her awards and funding from the National Science Foundation, the Washington Native Plant Society, and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. She received a B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College in 2013 where she completed a senior project on desert plant systematics. Before starting her graduate degree, Rebecca conducted research and taught at Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and the Bureau of Land Management Carson City District.