BETTY EILEEN (AXLEY) BAHN 1939-2020

Betty Bahn Betty Eileen Axley Bahn departed this life on May 15, 2020 in her beloved hometown of Yachats, Oregon after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80 years old and as always in May, she had a few flats of plants she'd propagated, ready for the next Seal Rock Garden Club plant sale. Betty was born on November 8, 1939 and spent her early years in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Her love of the outdoors, and for Yachats in particular, began at an early age. Some of her fondest memories are of canoeing, fishing, and swimming on the Yachats River, and of summers with her aunt Peg & uncle Bill Imrie on a wheat & cattle ranch in eastern Washington. Musically gifted, she performed as a drum majorette and played several instruments. She graduated from North Salem High School in 1957. She achieved a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University (then the University of Oregon School of Nursing - Doernbecher Children's Hospital) in 1962.

Her 55-year career included 15 years in the recovery room at Multicare Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma, Washington and 12 years as a home health care specialist, then volunteer, for Pacific Communities Hospital in Lincoln County, Oregon. Her persistence, her willingness to try innovative treatments, and her ability to make allies in the health care system were formidable. Families are grateful for her kindness, confidence and drive. Betty was married to Dr. Cordell Hunt Bahn from 1967-1991, and they raised 2 children, Arah and Michael in Tacoma, Washington and Bend, Oregon. She often said that her greatest accomplishments were her two children. However, both would attest to her triumphs in nursing and in the community and are duly humbled.

Finally returning to Yachats in 1991, where she had extensive family ties dating back to the late 1800's, she was a master gardener for 13 years, and taught classes for Lincoln County Master Gardeners. She devoted years of care and love to developing the Yachats Community Park and Wetlands, overseeing the Lincoln County Demonstration and Community Garden, and making monthly beach reports for Hatfield Marine Science Center's CoastWatch.

Despite living not so far from her birthplace for most of her life, Betty had an adventuresome spirit and traveled widely. An avid "birder," Betty traveled around the west and beyond, to work on her life list, including the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, and Midway Island. Her favorite bird, the Black-headed Grosbeak, returned to her backyard feeders recently, after a long hiatus. She loved spending time in her Grumman canoe or other whitewater-worthy crafts on the Colorado, Deschutes, John Day, Yakima, Rogue, Salmon and Owyhee Rivers, and in Canada's Broken Islands National Park. Betty was a passionate fan of the Olympic games, winter or summer. In 2002, she attended the Salt Lake City winter games with her family, many layers of warm ski clothes, and a few very noisy cowbells.

A student of early Oregon history and lover of great stories, Betty often regaled and educated listeners with tales. These include detailed accounts of growing up as a country doctor's kid, the provenance of a Siletz salmon paddle, and the saga of a discerning osprey. Betty is survived by daughter Arah (Steve), son Michael (Laura), her ex-husband Cordell, her orange tabby cat OJ and the loving community of Yachats. She was preceded in death by her parents, Nora Wann and Harold Axley, her Aunt Peg and Uncle Bill Imrie, her sister Helen Hewitt and her dear friend, Bob Powell. A celebration of Betty's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation.

AQUILEGIA FLAVESCENS AND AQUILEGIA FORMOSA HYBRIDIZATION

Abstract

We report the investigation of an Aquilegia flavescens × A. formosa population in British Columbia that is disjunct from its parents-—the latter species is present locally but ecologically separated, while the former is entirely absent. To confirm hybridity, we used multivariate analysis of floral characters of field-sampled populations to ordinate phenotypes of putative hybrids in relation to those of the parental species. Microsatellite genotypes at 11 loci from 72 parental-type and putative hybrid individuals were analysed to assess evidence for admixture. Maternally inherited plastid sequences were analysed to infer the direction of hybridization and test hypotheses on the origin of the orphan hybrid population.

Plants from the orphan hybrid population are on average intermediate between typical A. formosa and A. flavescens for most phenotypes examined and show evidence of genetic admixture. This population lies beyond the range of A. flavescens, but within the range of A. formosa. No pure A. flavescens individuals were observed in the vicinity, nor is this species known to occur within 200 km of the site. The hybrids share a plastid haplotype with local A. formosa populations. Alternative explanations for this pattern are evaluated. While we cannot rule out long-distance pollen dispersal followed by proliferation of hybrid genotypes, we consider the spread of an A. formosa plastid during genetic swamping of a historical A. flavescens population to be more parsimonious.

Quentin Cronk wrote to BEN (May 19, 2020):

A couple of points might be of interest:

(1) Herbaria. As we say, "Herbarium collections constitute an extensive, though often underutilized, morphological resource which can potentially be leveraged to identify and describe hybrid zones. We demonstrate the use of herbarium collections to describe the structure of a hybrid zone between two North American columbines, Aquilegia flavescens and A. formosa." We hope this study is extra indication (if one were needed) of the importance of herbaria and having good representative collections from a wide geographical area.

(2) Geography. On the coast, A. formosa is plain A. formosa, but the closer one gets to SE BC and Idaho, the more likely A. formosa is to show some similarity to A. flavescens in floral form. The effect is linear over a wide geographical area.

(3) Taxonomic practice. We note: "it is remarkable that in our entire data set of herbarium specimens, not a single specimen was originally directly identified as a hybrid. Instead, there is an evident tendency to shoehorn even the most intermediate specimens into one or other of the parental species."