Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Earth & Marine Sciences A308
Phone: 831.459.5358
Fax: 831.459.5353
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In a broad sense, I am fascinated by the high degree of plant morphological and physiological variation and I try to identify the adaptive strategies that underlie this diversity through my work in plant physiology, and plant structure and function.  I examine at the functional costs and benefits of having one trait over another, and make an effort to place the results in an evolutionary and biogeographical context. In the end, my aim is to understand what constrains the physiological performance of the modern flora, and whether the trends can be explained by integrating a phylogenetic and paleo-ecological perspective into my results.

My research has focused on four areas:  1) The biochemical limitations on C4 photosynthesis at cool temperatures and the implications of these limitations on the biogeography of plants with the C4 syndrome, 2) The effect of freezing and thawing on water transport in conifers, and the design criteria that determine if species will be vulnerable to this stress, 3) The hydraulic and structural trade-offs of drought resistance in wood across the conifer phylogeny and lastly 4) The evolutionary constraints on the physiology of modern Cupressaceae and ‘Taxodiaceae’. 

I will be accepting graduate students in 2008, so if you’re interested, please email me at the above address so I can convince you that UC Santa Cruz is the place to be!

Selected Publications

·Pittermann J., Sperry J.S., Hacke U.G., Wheeler J.K. and Sikkema E.H. 2006. Inter-tracheid pitting and the hydraulic efficiency of conifer wood: the role of tracheid allometry and cavitation protection. American Journal of Botany,  93:1265-1273.

·Pittermann J., Sperry J.S., Hacke U.G., Wheeler J.K. and Sikkema E.H. 2005. Torus-margo pits help conifers compete with angiosperms.  Science,  310:1924.

·Pittermann J. and Sperry J.S. 2006. Analysis of freeze-thaw embolism in conifers: the interaction between cavitation pressure and tracheid size.  Plant Physiology, 140:374-382.

· Burgess S.S.O., Pittermann J. and Dawson T. 2006. Hydraulic efficiency and safety of branch xylem increases with height in Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) crowns.  Plant, Cell and Environment, 29:229-239.

·Pittermann J. and Sperry J. 2003. Freezing-induced cavitation in conifers with large-diameter tracheids. Tree Physiology, 23:907-914.

·Pittermann J. and Sage R.F. 2000. Photosynthetic performance at low temperature of Bouteloua gracilis Lag., a high-altitude C4 grass from the Rocky Mountains, USA. Plant, Cell and Environment, 23:811-823.