Duke Researchers Refute Tree Theory

Published by: United Press International, Washington Times, Seattle Times, Newark Star-Ledger, Buffalo News.

DURHAM, NC, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- North Carolina researchers refute a widely accepted theory that many of the continent's tree species migrated from the deep south as glaciers retreated.

"When you put the molecular data together with other lines of evidence, it suggests that maybe they didn't move as fast as we previously thought," said James Clark, of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

"Maybe the species that are growing far to the north today weren't far to the south during the last glacial, maybe, in fact, they were further north near the edge of the ice and therefore didn't have to migrate as fast."

Clark will deliver his findings at the Oregon Convention Center Wednesday during the Ecological Society of America's 2004 annual meeting in Portland, Ore.

He said in an interview fossil evidence has led many researchers to conclude that many tree species now living in former glaciated areas migrated north over an interval of a few thousand years from deep southern refuges along the southern Atlantic and Gulf coastal regions near the end of the last Ice Age.

For more information, contact Tim Lucas in the Nicholas School’s Office of Communications at (919) 613-8084 or tdlucas@duke.edu.