Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.3.
Hypothetical example of temperature and solar radiation effects on fitness
of individuals of a species.The composite figure presents fitness contours that represent
the range of temperature and solar radiation under which individuals in a species can
thrive at optimal levels (black zone) to conditions in which they have a modest level of
survival and reproduction (medium gray to light gray zones).The light gray bounded by
the dotted line represents conditions likely found at the geographic range margins for
the species.The figure illustrates that species 1 is better able to cope with lower temper-
atures but higher solar radiation than species 2.
Climatic Conditions and Adaptation
From a functional standpoint, we typically want to know why a particular
species came to cope with a certain set of conditions in the first place. Un-
derstanding why species have these abilities allows us to make some reason-
able forecasts about what impact changing climate might have on these
species in the long run.
