Date of Award
3-2026
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Styleguide
apa
Degree Name
Biological Sciences - Ecology and Natural Resources: M.S.
Department
Biology
College
College of Science and Engineering
First Advisor
Angela McDonnell
Second Advisor
Matthew Davis
Third Advisor
Sarah Gibson
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Botany, Asteraceae, Plant Conservation
Abstract
Rare plants are those with narrow geographic range, and small populations; in Minnesota alone, there are 322 plant species who are recognized as rare, and are often threatened or endangered, including Parthenium integrifolium. Parthenium integrifolium L. (Asteraceae) is a perennial wildflower with a distribution from the east coast of North America to the Great Plains, with its Northwestern edge of the range being in Minnesota. It is the topic of increased conservation efforts from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as an endangered native plant. The first goal was to review the current taxonomic hypothesis, versus previous taxonomic hypotheses for the species. P. integrifolium was split into varieties previously, and through morphometric analysis support was determined for the current taxonomic hypothesis of the species being under one scientific name. The second goal was achieved through ecological niche modelling (ENM) of the species distribution in both the range and regionally to predict what might occur in the future concerning the range of the species. Through these methods, it was found that P. integrifolium is predicted to shift south and west, and regionally, lose ground in Minnesota. Support is warranted for the increased conservation efforts for P. integrifolium in the state of Minnesota, with additional work planned to address the genomic issues of the species in the state.
Recommended Citation
Hennemann, Samuel M., "Studies in conservation & management of a MN-endangered plant: Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium, Asteraceae)" (2026). Culminating Projects in Biology. 94.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/biol_etds/94
Comments/Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me throughout my journey, the unwavering support made it possible to achieve this. Thanks to my advisor, Dr. Angela McDonnell, and committee members; Dr. Sarah Gibson and Dr. Matthew Davis. Thanks as well to my lab colleagues in the McDonnell Lab; Kendall Cross, Annelise Swanson, Jamie Smith, Zay Ruppert, Nataly Minor, McKenna Sheldon, Jenisha Lama, and Makayla Micheal. I would also like to thank external collaborators at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Mike Lee and Derek Anderson.
I would like to thank St. Cloud State University for the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant, as the tuition support made it possible to pursue graduate school. Additional funding from this work was from SCSU Research & Sponsored Programs Faculty Improvement Grants, SCSU Graduate College, and SCSU Biology & Chemistry Department.