Lecture 13 - Sex life of plants Flashcards
What book did Darwin publish after publishing the origin of species and when was it published?
A book about orchids
1862
What was the first book that supported Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection?
Orchids in 1862
What is the advantage of mixing?
It creates variation which is advantageous to increase the species chances of survival as they are better adapted to the environment
What was Darwin convinced about after studying about orchids?
He was convinced that sex was universal as it allowed mixing to occur to create more variations which will may help the species survive/adapt better to the environment
Convinced that without any variation, the lineage of organisms will remain unchanged – no variation for natural selection to filter out the changes to help them adapt to a changing world
What orchid did Darwin conducted his experiment on?
Early purple orchid
What did Darwin find out from his experiment on orchids?
Plants evolve structures to make sure that they do not mate with themselves
Darwin showed that plants were just as rich with intricate adaptations as animals and that their adaptations were cobbled together from pre-existing elements by natural selection.
Natural selection was the only scientific explanation that can explain why these things were
What is the relationship between the long nectary orchid and the moth?
Mutualism - Both the orchid and moths must be slowly changing/evolving over time to achieve such a specialisation (both moth and orchid are adapted to each other
What was the book “Reign of Law” by the Duke of Argyll in 1867 about?
Argyll was unconvinced by Darwin’s argument that only natural causes have led to orchids – believed that there is divine intervention
Why are plants in waterlogged soil prey/trap insects sometimes?
Waterlogged soil lack nitrogen, the plant needs nitrogen so it obtains it from consuming insects
What are the benefits of cross-fertilisation?
Seedlings of cross-fertilised plants are superior/stronger and are more numerous compared to seedlings of self-fertilised plants
