Climate adaptation by crop migration.

Many studies have estimated the adverse effects of climate change on crop yields, however, this literature almost universally assumes a constant geographic distribution of crops in the future. Movement of growing areas to limit exposure to adverse climate conditions has been discussed as a theoretical adaptive response but has not previously been quantified or demonstrated at a global scale. Here, we assess how changes in rainfed crop area have already mediated growing season temperature trends for rainfed maize, wheat, rice, and soybean using spatially-explicit climate and crop area data from 1973 to 2012. Our results suggest that the most damaging impacts of warming on rainfed maize, wheat, and rice have been substantially moderated by the migration of these crops over time and the expansion of irrigation. However, continued migration may incur substantial environmental costs and will depend on socio-economic and political factors in addition to land suitability and climate

Habitat area and climate stability determine geographical variation in plant species range sizes

Despite being a fundamental aspect of biodiversity, little is known about what controls species range sizes. This is especially the case for hyperdiverse organisms such as plants. We use the largest botanical data set assembled to date to quantify geographical variation in range size for ∼ 85 000 plant species across the New World. We assess prominent hypothesised range-size controls, finding that plant range sizes are codetermined by habitat area and long- and short-term climate stability. Strong short- and long-term climate instability in large parts of North America, including past glaciations, are associated with broad-ranged species. In contrast, small habitat areas and a stable climate characterise areas with high concentrations of small-ranged species in the Andes, Central America and the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest region. The joint roles of area and climate stability strengthen concerns over the potential effects of future climate change and habitat loss on biodiversity

Causes and Consequences of Plant Responses to Environmental Change over Physiological, Ecological, and Evolutionary Time

Assessing how environmental change affects plants is increasingly important as terrestrial ecologists attempt to predict future patterns from current processes. However, this challenge is complicated because plant communities can respond to environmental variation at different, but overlapping scales. Additionally, both patterns and the processes that drive them are sensitive to the methods that scientists use to study them. Consequently, a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches are necessary to improve our understanding of how organisms, communities, and ecosystems will respond to future change. Collectively, the studies in this thesis employ a diverse array of approaches to test important ecological theories, including long-term observational studies, manipulative experiments, and analyses that leverage both local and global datasets. The Enquist lab has been measuring subalpine meadow carbon fluxes and climate variables at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), for over 13 years at the time of this writing. Examining correlations between climate and carbon flux over this time has led to the identification of interesting patterns between snowmelt, precipitation events, and rates of carbon exchange. Despite the longer growing season, early snowmelt dates ultimately result in lower productivity in these systems. Pairing this study with the results of a soil moisture manipulation experiment aided in the discovery that the strength and duration of the foresummer drought was directly related to rates of carbon exchange and biomass accumulation in these systems. Thus, integrating long-term observational work with an experimental manipulation served to link pattern and process in a way that was not possible with either study alone. The studies in this thesis range in scale from sub-organismal (chapter 3), to community ecosystem (chapters 1 and 2), to continental (chapter 4). Across all scales afunctional trait ecology approach contributes a holistic view of how these changes may impact organismal, ecosystem, and evolutionary responses to environmental variation. Plants are frequently faced with fundamental performance tradeoffs, which arise due to physical, chemical, genetic/evolutionary, and/or ecological constraints. As a result, functional trait measurements can reflect ecological strategies or resource acquisition strategies. Functional ecology offers a promising approach to linking the attributes of individuals to and communities to ecosystem processes. Understanding how individuals, communities, and ecosystems will respond to environmental change is a fundamental question in ecology. I address this topic using a variety of novel experimental methods and statistical techniques. I use a functional ecology approach by considering not only the species in a community, but also the distribution of functional traits that those species represent. It is in this way that I test ecological hypotheses regarding plant responses to environmental change over physiological, ecological, and evolutionary time scales.Release 02-Dec-201

BIOL1820-B5.LAB: Prin of Plnt & Animl Phys.Sp15.Sloat,Lindsey

Goals: To introduce the basic principles of plant and animal physiology emphasizing structure-function relationships, mechanisms of integration of cellular, tissue and organ functions, and the concept of homeostatic balance. To gain experience in the practice of science by posing scientific questions, designing experiments or observations to answer these questions and presenting the results of these studies in a public forum. To increase skills in the following areas: Oral and written communication, use of the computer as a scientific tool, functioning as a member of a goal directed team. Content: Physiological mechanisms for the regulation of water balance, gas exchange, and energy balance in both plants and animals will be covered. The role of cells, tissues and organs in physiological process; function and regulation of the endocrine, digestive, respiratory, vascular and nervous systems in animals. Taught: Spring term. Prerequisite: BIOL 1800 or permission of instructor. Credits: 4 credit

BIOL1820-B2.LAB: Prin of Plnt & Animl Phys.Sp15.Sloat,Lindsey

Goals: To introduce the basic principles of plant and animal physiology emphasizing structure-function relationships, mechanisms of integration of cellular, tissue and organ functions, and the concept of homeostatic balance. To gain experience in the practice of science by posing scientific questions, designing experiments or observations to answer these questions and presenting the results of these studies in a public forum. To increase skills in the following areas: Oral and written communication, use of the computer as a scientific tool, functioning as a member of a goal directed team. Content: Physiological mechanisms for the regulation of water balance, gas exchange, and energy balance in both plants and animals will be covered. The role of cells, tissues and organs in physiological process; function and regulation of the endocrine, digestive, respiratory, vascular and nervous systems in animals. Taught: Spring term. Prerequisite: BIOL 1800 or permission of instructor. Credits: 4 credit