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Related Concept Videos

Exercise and Muscle Performance01:27

Exercise and Muscle Performance

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Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

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Determining the Contribution of the Energy Systems During Exercise
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Published on: March 20, 2012

Fitness and physiology in a variable environment.

Sarah Kimball1, Jennifer R Gremer, Amy L Angert

  • 1Center for Environmental Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-1450, USA. skimball@uci.edu

Oecologia
|November 26, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Environmental conditions shape species fitness. Desert annual plants with high growth rates thrive in wet years, while those with high water-use efficiency succeed in dry, warm years, impacting community dynamics.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Plant Physiology
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • Species fitness is linked to physiological traits, but this relationship varies with environmental conditions.
  • Fluctuating environments can drive trait evolution and alter community composition over time.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how changing environmental conditions influence the fitness of species with different physiological traits.
  • To understand the ecological dynamics of desert annual plant communities under variable weather patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Combined long-term data on desert annual plant survival and fecundity with weather and physiological trait data.
  • Regressed species' annual fitness against a trade-off between relative growth rate and water-use efficiency.
  • Correlated variations in fitness-physiology relationships with annual temperature and precipitation patterns.

Main Results:

  • Years with frequent small rain events and long dry spells were detrimental to most desert annuals.
  • Species with high relative growth rates and low water-use efficiency showed higher fitness during years with large rain events.
  • Species with high water-use efficiency had greater fitness in years with small rain events and late-season warmth.

Conclusions:

  • Weather variables critically interact with species' physiological traits to influence interannual survival and fecundity.
  • These trait-environment interactions are key drivers of population and community dynamics in desert ecosystems.