Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS45 Temporary Aquatic Ecosystems: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (Spatial and Temporal Connections)

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001, Time: 10:00:00 AM

Location: Cochiti/Taos

Bauder, E, T, San Diego State University, San Diego,CA 92182-4614, USA, ebauder@sunstroke.sdsu.edu

ADAPTATIONS OF VERNAL POOL PLANTS TO AN UNPREDICTABLE PRECIPITATION REGIME

Mediterranean climates, such as the one found in California, are characterized by sparse, seasonal and unpredictable precipitation—both within and between years. During the winter rainy season, small depressions found on terraces or mesas pond rain water, then dry completely by summer. These ephemeral wetlands are known as vernal pools. Vernal pools were once common in California's Central Valley, San Diego County, and other west coast areas, but are rapidly disappearing due to urbanization and cultivation. Plants and animals living in vernal pools confront widely varying and unpredictable moisture conditions. The temporal fluctuations in their habitat include rising and falling water levels, a long summer drought, and an extreme range in the length of the inundation period, not only from pool to pool but from year to year as well. Vernal pool plants frequently have one or more traits that enable them to cope with moisture variability. These include morphological plasticity, seed dormancy, rapid growth to maturity, and perennating organs such as tap roots and corms. Data from experimental and field work will be presented to illustrate these adaptations.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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