Transcript Document

Plants, Insects and our Environment
and How They Interact!!!!
Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis:
 Process by which plants capture Energy from the Sun; use it to build Carbohydrates
 Directly by eating the plant (lettuce) or indirectly (by eating another animal), they
provide the food for the living world, including themselves
 Occurs in plants, algae, certain other protists, and some prokaryotes

Oxygenic Photosynthesis:
 Produces oxygen; cyanobacteria, algae and essentially all land plants
Figure 10.2
(b) Multicellular
alga
(a) Plants
(d) Cyanobacteria
(c) Unicellular
protists
10 m
(e) Purple sulfur
1 m
bacteria
40 m
Algal Groups – Green, Brown and Red
Non – Vascular Plants - Mosses
Number of Land Plant Species
Seedless Vascular Plants - Ferns
Carboniferous Plants – Coal Formation
Seeds: Transforming the World

Seed:
 Consists of an embryo and nutrients surrounded
by a protective coat

Seeds:
 Changed the course of plant evolution, enabling them
to become the most Dominant Photosynthetic
Producer in most terrestrial ecosystems

Seed Plants:
 Plants and other organisms were able to move on
land because of the formation of the ozone layer
 Originated about 360 million years ago
 Domestication of seed plants along with animals
had begun by 8,000 years ago and allowed for
permanent settlements
Seed Plants

Seeds provide some evolutionary advantages over Spores Producers (Ferns):
 May remain dormant for years until conditions are favorable for germination
 Have a supply of stored food – good for the plants but “Food for Us”
 My be transported long distances by wind or animals or water

Gymnosperms: “Naked Seeds”
 Seeds are exposed on cones
 Appear early in the fossil record about 305 million years ago and dominated Mesozoic (251–
65 million years ago) terrestrial ecosystems
 Today, cone-bearing Conifers dominate in the northern latitude

Angiosperm:
 Seeds are found in fruits, which are mature ovaries
 Began to replace gymnosperms near the end of the Mesozoic
 Dominate more terrestrial ecosystems
Gymnosperms – Cycads

Cycads:
 Most are tropical or subtropical with palm-like leaves
 Individuals have large cones (either male or female)
 Air or Beetles carry pollen
 Thrived during the Mesozoic, but relatively few species exist today
Gymnosperms – Ginkgo

Ginkgo:
 Age of the Dinosaurs
 Single living species, Ginkgo biloba
 Male is widely planted
 Pollinated by wind
 Leaves are resistant to insects, disease and
air pollution
Gymnosperms – Gnetophyta

Gnetophyta:
 Genera: Gnetum, Ephedra, Welwitschia
 Species vary in appearance
 Some are tropical; others live in
deserts having a deep tap root
Gymnosperms – Conifers

Conifers:
 Largest group of the Gymnosperms
 Many dominant the forested regions of the Northern Hemisphere
 Most conifers are evergreens; few are deciduous
 Evergreens can carry out photosynthesis year round as they retain their leaves
 Tallest – redwood; oldest – bristlepine cone

Life Cycle - Reproduction:
 Development of Seeds from fertilized ovules
 Transfer of sperm to ovules by Wind Blown Pollen
Figure 30.5e
Common juniper
Douglas fir
Sequoia
European larch
Wollemi pine
Bristlecone pine
Angiosperms

Angiosperms:
 Ancestors of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms diverged 305 million years ago
 Angiosperms originated at least 140 million years ago
 Comprise more than 250,000 living species

Previously, Angiosperms were divided into 2 main groups;
 Monocots (one cotyledon) – remain as a group
 Dicots (two dicots)

Today, Eudicot (“True” Dicots) includes most Dicots
Angiosperms – Basal
 Basal Angiosperms:
 3 small lineages: Amborella trichopoda, water lilies, and star anise

Angiosperms – Magnoliids

Magnoliids:
 Include magnolias, laurels, and black pepper plants
 More closely related to monocots and eudicots than basal angiosperms
Angiosperms – Monocots
Monocots: > 25% angiosperm species are Monocots
Angiosperms – Eudicots
Eudicots: > 2/3 angiosperm species are Eudicots
Angiosperms

Angiosperms: Greek anthos for flower
 Seed plants with reproductive structures called Flowers and Fruits
 Pollinators: animals (insects that feed on pollen) move pollen grains from male parts of
one flower to female parts of another
 Coevolution: over time, plants and animal pollinators jointly evolved; changes in one
exerts selection pressure on the other

Angiosperms have 2 key adaptations
 Flower:
 Structure specialized for sexual reproduction
 Pollinated by insects, animals or wind

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Fruits:
 Typically consists of a mature ovary but can also include other flower parts
 Protect seeds and aid in their dispersal
Seeds can be carried by Wind, Water, or Animals to new locations
Angiosperm Flowers

Flowers are the Reproductive Structure of Angiosperms:

Non-Reproductive:
 Corolla (Petals): leaflike ring (brightly colored) that attracts pollinators
 Calyx (Sepal): leaf-like outer whorl at base; photosynthetic; protects ovary
 Receptacle: modified green base of the flower (modified leaves)
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Reproductive:
 Stamens: male parts of a flower
 Anther: pollen is produced by meiosis in pollen sacs
 Filament: veined stalk that holds the anther

Carpels (Pistils): female parts of a flower
 Ovary: eggs developed
 Style: tube that connects the ovary with stigma
 Stigma: sticky or hairy surface where the pollen lands
Figure 38.2a
Stamen
Anther
Filament
Petal
Stigma Carpel
Style
Ovary
Sepal
Receptacle
(a) Structure of an idealized flower
Diversity of Flowers

Flower Structure: adaptations to maximize Cross-Pollination between 2 different plants
 Regular: symmetric (identical sections) or Irregular: not radially symmetric flowers
 Single: 1 flower or Inflorescences: many flowers
Complete: sepals, petals, stamens and carpals
 Incomplete: lack one or more of these structures

Perfect: may be pollinated by other plants or itself
 Imperfect: male or female parts or cannot be pollinated by itself
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Monoecious: both male and female
 Diecious: male or female flowers on separate plants


Self-Pollination has its advantages but often produces plants that are less vigorous than CrossPollinated Plants
Pollination

About 390 mil years ago, Seed Plants began making Pollen – at 1st, air currants may have
disperse the pollen but Insects made the connection between “Plant with Pollen” and “Food”

Pollination:
 Transfer of Pollen from an anther to a stigma by wind, water, or animals
 Wind-Pollinated species (grasses and many trees) release large amounts of Pollen

Co-Evolution:
 2 or more species jointly evolving as an outcomes of close biological interactions
 Heritable changes in one species affects the other so the other evolves also

Pollination Vectors:
 Agents that deliver pollen from an anther to a compatible stigma (wind or releasing
billions of pollen grains)

Pollinators:
 Living pollination vectors (insects, birds, or other animals)
 Flower shape, pattern, color and fragrance are adaptations that attract sanimal pollinators
 Often rewarded for visiting a flower by obtaining nutritious pollen or sweet Nectar
 Selective advantage of Pollinators visiting flowers - bring the pollen to the next plant
 90% of the 295,000 have Co-Evolved with Pollinators and do not depend on the Wind
Pollinators
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Visual Cues:
 Bee pollinated flowers are often yellow, blue or purple
 Birds and butterflies are attracted to red and yellow flowers

Olfactory Cues:
 Bats (nectar sipping) search for intense fruity or musty odors
 Beetles and flies search for fermenting fruit and drug
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Nectar:
 Sucrose rich fluid secreted by the plant
 Provides the food for butterflies and hummingbirds
 Bees collect it and bring it back to the hive to make Honey

Flowers:
 Evolved with their Pollinator
 Nectar rich floral tubes are the same length as the pollinator’s feeding siphon (proboscis)
 Small flowers like daisies are of no interest to finches or bats
 Tall, thin flowers cannot support beetles
Angiosperms and Their Pollinators
Figure 38.4a
Abiotic Pollination by Wind
Pollination by Bees
Common dandelion
under normal light
Hazel staminate flowers
(stamens only)
Hazel carpellate
flower (carpels only)
Common dandelion
under ultraviolet light
Figure 38.4b
Pollination by Moths
and Butterflies
Pollination by Flies
Pollination by Bats
Anther
Moth
Fly egg
Stigma
Moth on yucca flower
Blowfly on carrion
flower
Pollination by Birds
Hummingbird
drinking nectar of
columbine flower
Long-nosed bat feeding
on cactus flower at night
Corpse Flower
Apple and Peach Flowers
Cactus Flowers
Hummingbirds and Flowers
Fruits

Fruit:
 Develops from the Ovary
 Protects the enclosed seeds and aids in seed dispersal by wind or animals
 May be classified as Dry, if the ovary dries out at maturity, or Fleshy, if the ovary becomes
thick, soft, and sweet at maturity

Fruits are also classified by their development:
 Simple: single or several fused carpels
 Aggregate: single flower with multiple separate carpels
 Multiple: group of flowers called an inflorescence
 Accessory: other floral parts contribute to the fruit; apple, ovary is embedded in the
receptacle

Fruit Dispersal Mechanisms include: water, wind and animals
Figure 38.10
Stigma
Carpels
Stamen
Flower
Style
Petal
Ovary
Stamen
Sepal
Ovule
Stigma
Ovule
Pea flower
Raspberry flower
Carpel
(fruitlet)
Seed
Stigma
Ovary
Stamen
Pineapple
inflorescence
Each segment
develops
from the
carpel
of one
flower
Stamen
Ovary (in
receptacle)
Apple flower
Remains of
stamens and styles
Sepals
Seed
Pea fruit
(a) Simple fruit
Raspberry fruit
(b) Aggregate fruit
Pineapple fruit
(c) Multiple fruit
Receptacle
Apple fruit
(d) Accessory fruit
Seeds

Seed (mature ovule):
 Embryo and nutritious endosperm encased in a seed coat
 Remains dormant until conditions are right for germination and growth resumes

Germination:
 Process by which a dormant mature Embryo in a seed resumes growth after a period of
arrested growth (Dormancy)
 Begins when water activates enzymes in the seed
 Cell divide, elongate and differentiate into primary root
 Ends when the Primary Root breaks the seed coat

Growth:
 Differentiation results in the formation of tissues and parts in predictable patterns
 Cells divide by Mitosis
Figure 38.11a
Dispersal by Wind
Dandelion fruit
Dandelion “seeds” (actually one-seeded fruits)
Tumbleweed
Winged seed of
the tropical Asian
climbing gourd
Alsomitra macrocarpa
Winged fruit of a maple
Dispersal by Water
Coconut seed embryo,
endosperm, and endocarp
inside buoyant husk
Figure 38.11b
Dispersal by Animals
Fruit of puncture vine
(Tribulus terrestris)
Squirrel hoarding
seeds or fruits
underground
Ant carrying
seed with nutritious
“food body” to its
nest
Seeds dispersed in black bear feces
Fruit and Seed Dispersal
Asexual Reproduction

Many Angiosperm species reproduce both Asexually and Sexually

Asexual Reproduction results in a clone of genetically identical organisms

In some species, a parent plant’s root system gives rise to adventitious shoots that become
separate shoot systems
Bees as Pollinators in Our Food Supply