Dissertation Research: Water Relations in a Species of Aridland Shrub

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Plants often have a large number of seeds that germinate, but few that survive the juvenile (pre.flowering) stage and reproduce. For desert shrubs, juvenile mortality is often associated with lack of water. The proposed research will examine the relationship of juvenile water.use physiology to growth and survival of a species of shrub native to the Great Basin Desert. The investigators will determine whether the genetic makeup of the individual or the environment is more important in determining which individuals survive, and if there are shifts in physiology between the juvenile and adult phases. The significance of this project is the identification of the plant juvenile period as a phase potentially having water.use physiology and selection pressures different from those of adults. This information is important in our understanding of the factors determining plant establishment and survival in economically important arid shrub habitats.