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An Ecological And Evolutionary Analysis Of Photosynthetic Thermotolerance Using The Temperature-Dependent Increase In Fluorescence, Charles A. Knight, David D. Ackerly

Biological Sciences

The hypothesis that species inhabiting warmer regions have greater photosynthetic tolerance of high temperatures was tested using the temperature-dependent increase in fluorescence (T-F_o). Congeneric species pairs of Atriplex, Salvia, Encelia, and Eriogonum with desert versus coastal distributions were studied in a common environment and in the field. In addition, 21 species with contrasting microclimate distributions were studied at a field site in a northern California chaparral community. The average July maximum temperature within the current distributions of species was quantified using a geographic information system. Four parameters (T_crit, T_S20, …