APFIVE The Law of Tolerance indicates that an organism’s performance declines when an abiotic factor deviates from its optimum range. If a species has an optimum temperature range between 15°C and 25°C, and temperature variation is modeled by a quadratic function $$T(x)=a*x^2+b*x+c$$, how does increasing the coefficient a affect the potential distribution of the species?
It steepens the curve, causing deviations from the optimum to become more pronounced, which may reduce the habitable range.
It has no significant effect on species distribution as a merely scales the function without affecting tolerance limits.
It shifts the optimum range upward without altering the steepness of the curve.
It flattens the curve, thereby increasing the range of tolerable temperatures.
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