Bergelson examined the ability of scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) to compensate for grazing on young bolting shoots at 14 sites, distributed throughout the northwest United States. Scarlet gilia does not compensate for grazing in the way that experiments conducted in Flagstaff, Arizona, demonstrated (Paige and Whitman 1987). Scarlet gilia did not increase in weight, did not produce more fruits, did not have heavier roots, and did not produce more viable buds when clipped. Further, it suffered a phenological delay in many of the 14 populations studied. Scarlet gilia is known to be a highly variable species, and it appears that the great power of compensation that has previously been observed is not a general characteristic of the species.
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