Research Problem 2: Plant Physiological Ecology (Bio 31) Objectives 1. Conduct a hypothesis-driven investigation of patterns and/or processes in plant physiological ecology. 2. Write a research paper, in the form of a contribution to the primary literature, describing the study. 3. Learn the methods and analyses that are fundamental to studies of plant growth, allocation, carbon flux, water balance. Specifically, the: ! Principles, measurement, calculation, and interpretation of measuring photosynthetic rates with an infrared gas analyzer (Appendix 1; more technical information at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis_system); ! Principles, measurement, and interpretation of plant water potential using a pressure bomb (some technical information: http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/pressure_chamber/ ! Gross anatomy of plants, including leaves, stomata, stems, vascular tissue (xylem and phloem), apical and cambial meristematic tissue, coarse roots, fine roots, and root hairs; ! Principles, measurement, calculation, and interpretation of plant growth and allocation (Figs. 1-2); ! Principles, measurement, calculation, and interpretation of photosynthetically active radiation (Appendix 2; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthetically_active_radiation Materials ! Potted plants of numerous plant species grown under an assortment of environmental conditions (see Table 2 in handout for RP-1) ! Several electrobalances (± 0.1/ 0.01 mg and coarser). ! An infrared gas analyzer with cuvette configured for measurements of CO 2 flux. ! A pressure bomb for measuring plant water potential. ! Dissecting scopes, compound scopes, and hand-lenses. ! Assorted tools for measuring leaf area, leaf thickness, and other aspects of plant morphology. ! “Claw” with PAR sensor; see Appendix 2.