Mit McGlaughlin

Contact Information

Education

• Ph.D.:Botany, Claremont Graduate University/Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA (2005)
• B.A.:Biology, Reed College, Portland, OR (1999)

Professional/Academic Experience

Dr. McGlaughlin joined the faculty of UNC in the fall of 2008. His research is focused on using genetics to understand the nature of plant species, speciation, and conservation. Between 2005 and 2008 Dr. McGlaughlin worked as a Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of South Dakota, with Dr. Kaius Helenurm. His post doctoral research was focused on phylogeographic and conservation genetic studies with rare and endangered plants on the California Channel Islands. This research was predominantly funded by the US Navy in order to enhance management practices on the San Clemente Island bombing range. In 2005, Dr. McGlaughlin received his PhD in Botany from a joint program through Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and Claremont Graduate University, working with Dr. Elizabeth Friar. His doctoral research examined patterns of diversification in a widespread member of the Hawaiian silversword alliance, Dubautia laxa (Asteraceae). While working at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden he conducted numerous conservation genetic studies for resource management agencies in Southern California. In 1999 Dr. McGlaughlin received a BA from Reed College, working with Dr. Keith Karoly. As an undergraduate, he conducted conservation genetic research on the Pink Sand Verbena, Abronia umbellata (Nyctaginaceae). 

Classes Taught

• BIO 329 Field Botany
• BIO 330/530 Plant Systematics
• BIO 462/562 Conservation Biology
• BIO 465 Evolution
• BIO 526 Population Genetics
• BIO 539/539L Molecular Ecology
• BIO 572 Species and Speciation
• SCI 291 Scientific Writing

Research/Areas of Interest

     Plant phylogeography on the California Channel Islands; Adaptive evolution in the Hawaiian silversword alliance; Conservation Genetics; Plant Speciation; Colorado Botany; Conservation Biology.

Publications/Creative Works

Recent Peer-reviewed research publications

1. McGlaughlin, M.E., Riley, L., Helenurm, K., Wallace, L. E. (2018). Does channel island Acmispon(Fabaceae) form cohesive evolutionary groups? Western NorthAmerican Naturalist: Papers from the 9^thCalifornia Islands Symposium 4th ed., vol. 78, pp. 739-757.

2. Riley, L., McGlaughlin, M.E., Helenurm, K. (2018). Limited genetic variability in native buckwheats (Eriogonum: Polygonaceae) on San Clemente Island.  Western North American Naturalist: Papers from the 9^thCalifornia Islands Symposium 4th ed., vol. 78, pp. 722-738. 

3. Smith, C., McGlaughlin, M.E., Mackessy, S. (2018). DNA barcodes from snake venom: a broadly applicable method for extraction of DNA from snake venoms. BioTechniques, 65, 339-345.

4. Wallace, L. E., Wheeler, G. L., McGlaughlin, M.E., Bresowar, G., Helenurm, K. (2017). Phylogeography and genetic structure of endemic Acmispon argophyllusand A. dendroideus(Fabaceae) across the California Channel Islands. American Journal of Botany, 104(5), 743-756.

5. Riley, L., M.E. McGlaughlin, and K. Helenurm. 2016. Narrow water barriers prevent multiple colonizations and limit gene flow among California Channel Islands wild buckwheats (Eriogonum: Polygonaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 181: 246-268.

6. Riley, L., and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2016. Endemism in native floras of California’s Channel Islands correlated with seasonal patterns of aeolian processes. Botany 94: 65-72.

7. Bresowar, G.B. and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2015. Morphological And Genetic Discrepancies in Oreocarya paradoxa and its Gypsophile Sister Species, O. revealii (Boraginaceae): The Impact Of Edaphic Factors On Recent Diversification In The Colorado Plateau. American Journal of Botany 102: 1647-1658.

8. Fuller, R.S., S. Frietze, and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2015. Characterization of 13 microsatellite markers for Calochortus gunnisonii (Liliaceae) from Illumina MiSeq sequenceing. Applications in Plant Sciences 3(8): 1500051.

9. Schwabe, A.L., J. Ramp Neale, and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2015. Examining the genetic integrity of a rare endemic Colorado cactus (Sclerocactus glaucus) in the face of hybridization threats from a close and widespread congener (Sclerocactus parviflorus). Conservation Genetics 16: 443-457.

10. M.E. McGlaughlin, L. Riley, M. Brandsrud, E. Arcibal, M.K. Helenurm, K. Helenurm. 2015. How much is enough? Minimum sampling intensity required to capture extant genetic diversity in ex situ seed collections: examples from the endangered plant Sibara filifolia (Brassicaceae). Conservation Genetics 16: 253-266.

11. Dorman, H.E., M.E. McGlaughlin, and L.E. Wallace. 2014. Widespread variation in NSP1, a gene involved in Rhizobium nodulation, across species of Acmispon (Fabaceae) from diverse habitats. Botany: 92: 571-578.

12. McGlaughlin, M.E., L.E. Wallace, G.L. Wheeler, G.E. Bresowar, L. Riley, N.R. Britten, and K. Helenurm. 2014. Do the island biogeography predictions of MacArthur and Wilson hold when examining genetic diversity on the near mainland California Channel Islands? Examples from endemic Acmispon (Fabaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 174: 289-304.

13. McGlaughlin, M.E., and E.A. Friar. 2011. The role of geography in infraspecific diversification in a widespread member of the Hawaiian silversword alliance, Dubautia laxa (Asteraceae). Annals of Botany: 107: 357-370.

14. Friar, E.A., L.M. Prince, J.M. Cruse-Sanders, M.E. McGlaughlin, C.A. Butterworth, and B.G. Baldwin. 2008. Hybrid origin and genomic mosaicism of Dubautia scabra (Hawaiian Silversword Alliance; Asteraceae--Madiinae). Systematic Botany. 33: 589-597.

Recently presented papers and posters

1. McGlaughlin, M.E., L. Riley, and K. Helenurm. 2015. How much is enough? Minimum sampling intensity required to capture extant genetic diversity in ex situ seed collections: examples from the endangered plant Sibara filifolia (Brassicaceae). Botany 2015, Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, Edmonton, Canada.
2. Fuller, R.S. and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2015 The Role Of Glacial Oscillatory Demographic Changes In The Central And Southern Rocky Mountains In Shaping The Genetic Structure Of Gunnison’s Mariposa Lily.Botany 2015, Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, Edmonton, Canada.
3. Wills, B. and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2015. Resolving Taxonomic Synonymy of Phacelia submutica (DeBeque Phacelia) using ITS (nuclear) and ndhF (chloroplast) Sequences: Implications for Rare Plant Management. Botany 2015, Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, Edmonton, Canada.
4. McGlaughlin, M.E., L.E. Wallace, and K. Helenurm. 2014. Conflicting evolutionary signal among genetic markers in the endemic Lotus (Fabaceae) of the California Channel Islands. Botany 2014, Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, Boise, ID.
5. Schwabe, A., Neale, J., and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2014. Hybridization or phenotypic plasticity? A genetic investigation of an endangered endemic Colorado cactus (Sclerocactus glaucus) in the face of hybridization threats from a widespread congener (Sclerocactus parviflorus). Botany 2014, Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, Boise, ID.
6. Hubbard, A.^, Neale, J., and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2014. Examination of Sclerocactus wetlandicus and Sclerocactus brevispinus genetic diversity and population structure in the Unita Basin, Utah. Botany 2014, Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, Boise, ID.
7. McGlaughlin, M.E., and K. Helenurm. 2012. Gene flow and divergence in Leptosyne gigantea, Giant Tickseed, on the California Channel Islands. California Islands Symposia, Ventura, CA.
8. Riley, L., M.E. McGlaughlin, K. Helenurm. 2012. Phylogeography of Eriogonum (Polygonacaea) endemic to the California Channel Islands. California Islands Symposia, Ventura, CA.
9. McGlaughlin, M.E., G. Bresowar, K. Helenurm, and L.E. Wallace. 2011. Isolation among islands as a driver of divergence in the endemic Lotus (Fabaceae) of the California Channel Islands. Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
10. Bresowar, G. and M.E. McGlaughlin. 2011. Phylogenetics of the genus Cryptantha subgenus Oreocarya (Boraginaceae): A western North American taxon. Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.