The capacity to recover photosynthetic activity from emersion stresses varied between tissues from microsites separated by < 10 cm in the tropical turf forming alga Ahnfeltiopsis concinna (J. Ag.) Silva et DeCew. Tissues from canopy microsites which are regularly exposed to a greater range of irradiance, temperature and osmotic stresses than tissues from understory microsites had greater capacity to recover from these stresses alone or in combination compared to tissues from understory microsites. This, the first multifactorial analysis of physiological recovery from emersion stresses for any macroalgae, revealed the synergistic effects of high irradiance and temperature stresses while suggesting that enhanced temperature tolerance upon desiccation is not a universal feature of macroalgae at high tidal elevations. Net photosynthesis was enhanced by 20% water loss or exposure to 2150 mosM.kg - 1 media compared to values for tissues that were in a fully immersed state. Osmolarities in the range 200-3500 mosM.kg - 1 had a minimal negative impact on net photosynthesis. The temperature optimum for net photosynthesis was 33°C while the upper performance threshold was 40°C. Highly responsive stress acclimation capacity coupled with microclimate benefits of a turf form may substantially contribute to the ecological success of this species as an ecological dominant at high tidal elevations in the Hawaiian archipelago. Additionally, this diminutive physiological gradient emphasizes the differences in environmental pressures between high tidal amplitude, low-irradiance temperate regions and low tidal amplitude, high-irradiance tropical regions. In general, these pressures result in similar conspicuous photoacclimative and stress tolerance adaptations but over vastly different spatial scales.