The ecology of Ramalina menziesii. I. Geographical variation in form

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Abstract
The lichen Ramalina menziesii Tayl. was studied and collected in all parts of its range from Baja California del Norte to the Queen Charlotte Islands to determine the pattern of morphological variation present and the possible factors controlling it. Various measures of morphological variation were considered, but one proved to be particularly useful in allowing a rapid determination of the form of the species found: the number of perforations present in 15 mm long net buds. When this measure was plotted against distance inland and latitude of origin, some clear trends emerged. Most conspicuous was that proximity to the coast was correlated with very few perforations per net. Increasing latitude was correlated with decreasing number of perforations per net. Increasing latitude was correlated with decreasing number of perforations, but north of central Oregon all the samples were strictly costal. Concentrations of eluted Na+ and Cl- showed no significant effect related to latitude but a highly significant one related to distance inland. There were also significant relationships between morphological variation and both NaCl concentration and annual variation in temperature. There was some agreement between the distribution of different forms of this species and the patterns of annual precipitation. The distribution pattern of eight tree species that serve as substrate is related neither to the presence of R. menziesii nor to the form that it takes in the field.

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