BIO120H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Elaiosome, Corm, Main Diagonal
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BIO120H1 Full Course Notes
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Bio120: species interactions in subalpine meadows (lecture 24) Matrix of aspen trees and open meadows with lots of species of grasses and flowering plant. One example of flowering plant: glacier lily (erythronium grandiflorum) Flowering plants seem to be most numerous where soil surface very rocky. Long-lived perennials, iteroparous, pull all resources into corm, make showy flowers. If pollinated, set fairly large fruit (costs energy, seeds in fruit) Why we might see particular spatial distribution: dispersal biology. Are there mechanisms of dispersing seeds away from parent plant? (janzen-connell hypothesis) When seeds mature and ready to be dispersed, pods crack open at distal ends. Experiment: mark seeds in fruit with fluorescent powders, lay out fabric sprayed with adhesive to catch seeds. Not good at dispersing: flowering stalk 30cm high, but mean dispersal area 20cm. No obvious mechanism for getting seeds away from parent plant. Secondary dispersal by ants: other members of genus have specific adaptations to get dispersed by ants.
