Preisen, Jaina J2024-04-232024-04-232024https://hdl.handle.net/11299/262530This item is a University Honors Capstone.Ferns are an ancient lineage of vascular plants and the closest relatives of seed plants, which include conifers and flowering plants. Additionally, many ferns provide ecosystem services, for example, by filtering heavy metals and toxins from the surrounding environment (Dhir, B., 2018). In this study, I examine the growth and development of a desert-adapted fern from the southwestern United States and Mexico, Pellaea truncata. Specifically, I studied variation in reproductive propagules (spores) to better understand how genome size differs among the offspring that are produced by a single leaf. Spores were removed from individual sporangia growing on pinnules spanning a single mature leaf. Spores from this specimen were also sown on nutrient-enriched agar and placed under multiple light-intensity treatments to determine if light intensity impacts the germination rate.enFernsUniversity HonorsDepartment of BiologySwenson College of Science and EngineeringUniversity of Minnesota DuluthScholarly Text or Essay