What is the male and female part of the flower called?
Pistil = female
Anther= male
What are perfect flowers?
Have male + female parts
What are imperfect flowers?
Have either male or female parts (some angiosperms)
What does monoecious mean?
both males and female imperfect flowers on the same plant
What does diecious mean?
One type of imperfect flower is on one plant
Are all angiosperms animal pollinated?
No! Some are wind pollinated. They are usually green, small, and often lack petals.
Are all angiosperms animal pollinated?
No! Some are wind pollinated. They are usually green, small, and often lack petals.
What kind of relationship do pollinators and most angiosperms have?
Mutualistic! Pollinator gets a food source (nectar + pollen) while flower gets pollinated
How are flowers specialized for the pollination of a niche pollinator?
Floral morphology, scent, and petal color look to attract ONE specific pollinator.
What are some examples of flower niches for specific pollinators?
Bee Flowers - short wide corollas
Butterfly flowers- medium-length narrow corollas
Hummingbird flowers- long, narrow corollas
What are some biochemical factors affecting pollination?
Flower scent, flower color, and nutrional value
When is maximum scent production usually occur?
When pollen is ripe
What are diurnal scent variations?
Scent produced for day or dusk pollinators
What are some pleasant flower scents?
Terpenes (volatile aromatic substances)
What are diurnal scent variations?
The scent produced for day or dusk pollinators
What are some pleasant scents?
Terpenes + volatile aromatic substances
What are some unpleasant flower scents?
Ammonia, monoamines, decaying protein, fecal odors, and rancid odors
What are some examples of unpleasant flowers?
Trillium (resembles decaying meat), Eastern skunk cabbage (mimics rotting flesh), pawpaw (meat colored petals), and titan arum (largest unbranded inflorescence)
What is a pheromone?
Chemical substance released and received by members of the same species to achieve different behaviours
What are some applications of a pheromone?
Feeding, defence, finding a mate, laying trails, aggregation, ovipostion
Can pheromones be mimicked?
Yes
What is an example of pheromone mimicry?
The orchid mimics a female bee in order to get a male bee to pollinate it. Poor bee :(
What colors attract bees?
Blue + yellow
What are nectar guides?
Guides pollinators to nectar and sexual portion of the flower
What families of plants are usually blue and yellow?
Mint, figwort, and bean families
What colors do hummingbirds prefer?
Bright scarlet flowers
What are butterflies attracted to?
Brightly coloured flowers
What are moths and wasps attracted to?
dull + drab colours
What are beetles and bats attracted to?
Legit anything they are colourblind. Rely more on smell
What gives flowers pigments and where in the cell can they be found?
Chromoplasts (found in vacuoles)
What is a flavonoid?
The most important group of flower pigments. Contribute to white, yellow, + cyanic (orange, red, and blue) flowers
What kind of defense are flavonoids used for?
From microbe and insect attack
What health benefits do flavonoids have?
anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-cancer properties
What are anthocyanidins?
a group of flavonoids that appear red, purple, or blue. Consist of three main pigments
What are Cyanidins?
Most primitive pigment. Common in gynosperms.Found in more primitive parts of the flower (leaf and stem). (reddish - purple)
What is Pelargonidin?
Orange/ red pigment. Common in tropical plants but not in temperate plants. Hummingbirds love it
What is Delphinidin?
Mauve. Often present in pollinated flowers.
Do anthocyanidins occur singly or mixed?
Either!
What is the second major type of chromoplast?
Carotenoids
What color and function do carotenoids have?
Yellow, orange, and red pigments. They absorb light energy from photosynthesis to protect chlorophyll.
What are the other 3 types of pigments?
Chlorophylls (green)
Quinones (reds + yellows)
Betalain alkaloids (yellows, reds + purples)
What does the coloration of flowers in tropical environments have?
Orange color to attract hummingbirds
Loss of blue and yellow (bees)
What do the temperate habitats flowers have?
More blue and less pelargonidin (attracts birds / orange)
What pigments are in butterfly and moth-pollinated species of plants?
Mixtures of cyanidin and delphinidin
What do some plants do to attract different pollinators at different times of the year?
Colour shift (red to pink to white in scarlet gilia)
What do some plants do to attract different pollinators at different times of the year?
Color shift (red to pink to white in scarlet gilia)
What is the correlation of the colour shift in the scarlet gilia?
Southern emigration of hummingbirds (primary pollinators in july) and remaining attractive to the hawkmoth
How does colour shifting occur?
Dilution and eventually cease in production of anthocyanin in the petals.
How is lousewort pollination special?
Change in nectar sugar changes the type of pollinator (younger ones are bee-pollinated while older ones are bird pollinated)
Do some plants change flower colour after being pollinated?
Yes! Such as Lantana which switches from yellow (carotenoid) to red (anthocyanin) and triggered by the removal of nectar
Is color-changing pollination helpful?
Yes! Lets pollinators know what flowers still need to be pollinated!
What are some adaptations for animal defense?
Camo, mimicry, and deceptive behaviour
What do defence adaptations need to do to be successful?
Be tailored toward the observer and deceive the observer into making false judgments
What are the applications of defense adaptations?
Deceiving prey, deceiving predators, and aiding in reproduction
What are some examples of things that animals mimic in camouflage?
plants or plant parts, rocks, dirt, and faeces
What are some examples of things that animals mimic in camouflage?
plants or plant parts, rocks, dirt, and feces
What is countershading?
Paler is more below than above.
What is reverse countershading?
Animal is more paler above than below
What type of animals use countershading?
Ones that are usually harmful (warning system to stay away)
What is disruptive camo?
Involves distinctive markings or bright colours to confused predatos
What are some general characteristics of animals that are camouflaged?
Active at night, motionless during the day, and generally palatable
Can plants be camoed?
Yes!
What are diverting structures/ colouration?
Body parts or extensions that divert attention from vital to non-vital areas. Result is prey escaping with minor damage
What is frightening or startling coloration?
Appear camo. Startle or scare prey/predator.
What is aposematic coloration?
Warning system to tell predators to stay away
What is the first and second defense of organisms possessing aposematic coloration?
- Color
- Unpleasant activity (sting, irritate, bite, smell, poisonous, or taste bad)
What is the difference between physical and chemical defense?
Physical involves a physical structure of the prey causing discomfort (eg spines) while chemical involves being injested and chemicals having an affect on the predator
What is Batesian Mimicry?
A palatable species closely resembles and unpalatable species
What is Mullerian Mimicry?
Two unpalatable species mimic each other
What is aggressive mimicry?
Mimic resembles a harmless species in order to avoid being detected by the prey
What are three deception methods that can possibly be used in aggressive mimicry?
Deception through light, color, or pattern
What are the characteristics of animals that use chemical defenses?
Brightly colored and easily recognizable
What are some examples of chemical defenses used ?
foul smelling odors, taste bad, eject irritating liquids
How do some animals develop chemical defencses?
From plants they feed off of
What is the tradeoff of being toxic?
Less energy for other metabolic activities
What do plant physical defense mechanisms include?
Texture (hairs, tissues, deposits, or cuticular) or physical defence structures (spines, thorns, prickles, or stinging leaves)
What do plant chemical compounds consist of?
Secondary metabolites not normally involved in plant growth, development, or reproduction
Are plant defenses harmful to all organisms?
No. Just the ones that mostly feed on them. E.g. nicotine, pyrethrin, rotenone, and cannabis
What are alkaloids?
Alter normal biochemical function of animal cells.
What are some examples of alkaloids?
Nicotine, morphine, colchicine, caffeine)
What are some functions of alkaloids?
Inhibit or activate enzymes, alter carb or fat storage, affect cell membranes + structures, or affect nerve transmission
What are cyanogenic glycosides?
Toxic compound that disturbs cellular respiration. Releases HCN. Found in fruits and leaves of members of the rose family
What are glucosinolates?
Cause digestive problems such as gastroenteritis salivation, diarrhea, or mouth irritation. Found in the cabbage family
What is Sinigrin?
A glucosinolate that acts as an antifeedant
What are terpenoids?
Volatile essential oils used for their aromatic qualities
What are phenolics?
Bind to consumed plant proteins making them more difficult to digest (tannins + cannabinoids). (they interfere with protein absorptions)
What is allocation cost?
Resources consumed for biosynthesis
What can energy always be used for?
Reproductive growth!
What is a tradeoff for defence mechanisms?
Tradeoff between resistance and fitness
What can animals do to increase their fitness (chances of survival)?
Form mutulaistic relationships
What are the two methods of toxic defense in plants?
Constitutive resistance and induced resistance
What is constitutive resistance?
Toxic compound is always present (nicotine)
What is induced resistance?
Plants synthesize defense compoinds only after initial damage is made by a herbivore or pathogen. Reduces energy cost. E.g. reproductive organs in wild parsnip have high levels of xanthotoxin and furanocumarin
Are defense chemicals doses dependent?
Yes! May be in different concentrations at different times or different parts of the plant
What is a way plants survive with their own toxin?
Toxins may be stored as inactive precursors. Separated from activating enzymes. Activated when tissues are damaged.
Where are regions of the plant toxins may be stored?
Resin ducts, laticifers, or glandular trichomes
What is a plant that uses glandular trichomes on leaves and stems to ward away insects?
Tomato plant (inhibits larval growth of insects)
What substance is found within tomato plants for defense?
Solanine (poisonous glycoalkaloid) (fungicide and pesticide)
What do glandular trichomes on cannabis have?
Resin reservoirs for THC
What part of a cannabis plant has the highest concentration of THC?
Trichomes
What are glucosinolates?
Found in Brassicaceae family (cabbage family). Released when tissue is damaged.
Do essential oils have multiple toxic compounds?
Yes
What is synergism?
Higher toxicity of chemical mixture. The different chemicals within may react in different ways.
Why do herbivores eat plants that contain toxins?
Nutritional quality, addictive chemical properties, herbivore state (scarce number of plants)
What are some behavioral strategies herbivores/pathogens can overcome toxic plant compounds?
Cautious sampling, consumption of mixed diets, and cyclic consumption
What are some physiological strategies herbivores/pathogens can overcome toxic plant compounds?
Rejection (throwing up stomach contents), detoxification mechanisms, and tolerance (via adaptation)
What plant do monarch butterflies exclusively eat to taste bad?
Milkweed
What plant do seed bugs exclusively eat to taste bad?
Ragwort (extracts alkaloids)
What is the difference between being venous and poisonous?
If something bites you and you die it is venous. If you touch or eat something and you die it is poisonous.
What are different structures that can inject venom?
Chelicerae, stingers, and spines. Used to kill prey or defend against predators.
What are some potential results of getting injected with venom?
Mild itching, inflammation, pain, life-threatening allergic reactions, or death
What are the two ways an animal can react to a venom?
Desensitization to bites and stings or any amount of serious consequences (talked about before)
What is LD50?
Median lethal dose needed to kill 50% of the test population. (mg/kg)
What produces the most toxic insect venom?
Maricopa Harvester Ant (0.12 mg/kg)
What are some downfalls of LD50?
Tests are only done on rodents and venom has evolved to solely target a particular animal that may show different toxicity to different animals
What is a venom yield?
How much venom is injected
What is a dry bite?
When a snake bites but does not inject venom
How is bite penetration adapted to specific organisms?
Most are curated to their specific prey. Most venomous spiders and snakes doe not even pierce through human skin. Only ones with huge fangs
Do venomous species tend to be aggressive or secluded?
Secluded. Less venomous species tend to be more aggressive.
Does venom affect everyone the same?
No! May affect some species more than others
Who are some individuals who may be at risk for worse symptoms from venom?
Children (smaller body), Unhealthy individuals (decreased immune response), victims bite on the abdomen, face, or directly into the blood stream, and victims that flee
What is snake venom comprised of?
Saliva is rich in enzymes (polypeptides, nucleases, and peptidases that help digest prey.)
What molecule gives the effects of snake bites?
Toxic proteins
What are the two types of toxins found in snake venom? (one is more dominant than the other)
Haemotoxins (destroys red blood cells led to unwanted blood clots or internal bleeding) and Neurotoxins (interfere with cellular respiration of neurons leading to paralysis, cardiac arrest, asphyxia, and death)
Did fangs or venom come first in snakes?
Venom
What did venom allow snakes to become?
Smaller and swifter, taking up new environmental niches
What gives the Komodo Dragon its poison breath?
Poison glands between their teeth
Why do some venoms seem to be overkill?
Small prey needs to be taken out quickly with as least damage to them as possible
Are users of venoms resistant to their own venom?
Yes!
What are some examples of venoms being detoxified by its user?
Viper and rattlesnake venoms are inactivated by components in the blood. Cobras and mongooses block venom from muscle cell receptors.
What are mycotoxins?
Secondary metabolites produced by fungi
What are mycotoxins used for?
Defence!
What is a protoplasmic poison?
Destroy cells resulting in organ failure
What is an Amatoxin?
A protoplasmic poison that inhibits RNA polymerase II. Death 50-90% of time.
What are Hydrazines?
Similar to amatoxin (protoplasmic poison) but less severe. Wide range of effects. Death 2-4% of the time.
What is an Orellanine?
Gives a burning thirst and urination. Death 15% of time. Survivors usually have liver and kidney damage.
What is a neurotoxin?
Causes neurological symptoms
What is Muscarine poisoning?
Muscarine (neurotoxin) mimics acetylcholine (neurotransmitter) causing extreme perspiration leading to gastrointestinal upset. Deaths are rare
What is Psilocybin poisoning?
Neurotoxin used for psychotropic effects. Gives symptoms of alcohol intoxication and may also include hallucinations.
What are gastointestinal irritants?
Cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Faster than protoplasmic poisoning
What is Disulphram?
non-toxic unless alcohol is consumed. Coprine (amino acid) interferes with alcohol metabolism. Symptoms include facial flushing, nausea, vomiting, and heart palpatations. Severity dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed. No symptoms If mushroom is cooked
