Question

Ehleringer and Clark found that variation and leave pubescence among plans of the genus and encelia appears to correspond to the distribution of the species along a ______ gradient from the California coast east word

Answer 1

Leaf pubescence variation in Encelia species corresponds to their distribution along a climatic gradient from the California coast eastward, illustrating a cline related to geographical variation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ehleringer and Clark discovered that variation in leaf pubescence among plants of the genus Encelia correlates with their distribution along a climatic gradient extending from the California coast eastward. This gradient is related to geographic separation between populations, influencing phenotypic variation, also known as geographical variation.

One specific pattern observed in the distribution of biodiversity is known as a cline, where the characteristics of species change gradually across an ecological gradient.

For instance, warm-blooded animals often have larger bodies in cooler climates to conserve heat, constituting a latitudinal cline. Similarly, Encelia plant species may exhibit such variation in leaf pubescence as a response to different environmental conditions along the climatic gradient.