REGENERATION RESPONSES DIFFER AMONG THREE BOREAL MOSSES AFTER EXPOSURE TO EXTREME TEMPERATURES

Many factors may affect survival and establishment of moss vegetative propagules after dispersal, but little is known about the species-specific nature of the response. This study examined the survival and regeneration of gametophore fragments after exposure to temperature changes for three boreal forest mosses from different habitats: Dicranum polysetum, Orthotrichum obtusifolium, and Pleurozium schreberi. Fragments were cultured on water agar and survival and regeneration responses were recorded. Logistic regression analyses and AIC modeling evaluated the association between the response with the size of the gametophore fragments exposed to five abrupt or gradual temperatures for up to six time periods of exposure. The increased survival and regeneration was best explained when species were exposed to gradual rather than abrupt temperatures, lower than higher temperatures, and when the fragments had larger rather than smaller sizes. The mosses had different survival and regeneration responses that may be species-specific including clonal growth via the production of gametophore branches and protonemata, or mostly protonemata even when exposed to elevated temperatures.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author