BIO120H1 : Physiological Optima and Critical Limits

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20 Nov 2012
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BIO120H1 Full Course Notes
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BIO120H1 Full Course Notes
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Organism distribution limits and responses to climate change depend on how physiological performance varies as. Physiological optima and critical limits notes environment shifts b/w optimal and extreme conditions: dependant on biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Maximize their fitness at an optimal range, survive only short periods in conditions that exceed a threshold in their critical tolerance limits: range of environments b/w critical limits vary depending on physiological adaptation and energetics. Critical limits define species distribution, community structure and how communities respond to enviro changes. Performance curve diagrams organisms critical limits, which we can interpret as the functionality of mechanisms at the organismal and cellular level. Performance maximized under a range of optimal temps and declines to 0 just beyond upper/lower critical temps. Illustrate an organism"s performance across a range of enviro conditions (temperature) that define the organism"s thermal tolerance range (http://www. nature. com/scitable/content/ne0000/ne0000/ne0000/ne0000/45902754/1_2. jpg)