Plant species petrified in the Rhynie
chert.
Rhynia major.It has a prostrate axis with rhizoids,
the vertical axis branches dichotomously. Both have a central vascular strand
of thickened cells. The main axis has stomata and a thick cuticle. It has no
leaves. The terminal sporangia release spores by splitting longitudinally. It
reaches a height of about 50cm. The gametophyte is believed to be Lyonophyton.
Asteroxylon also reached about 50cm in height. It was covered in leaf-like
scales, but as the vascular tissue did not enter the scales, they cannot really
be called leaves. Unlike R. major the vascular tissue was not circular,
but star shaped and extended out towards the scales. It had axillary sporangia,
so growth of the main axis could continue, i.e. apical growth was not
disturbed. Trimerophyta and Rhynia are seedless. Asteroxylon may have had the
ancestor of leaves or needles. Progymnos had more elaborate branching and
vascular system, some may have had fern-like leaves, others had branching
systems resembling conifers, they also had pith, most were homosporous, but
some were heterosporous, some were relatively large. They lacked the seed habit
that gymnosperms and seed ferns have |
Ancestral green algal
cells were photosynthetic, aerobic, and probably had a motile stage in
their life cycle.
There were various types of prokaryotic cell, and it is
believed that a series of symbiotic relationships between various combinations
of these cells led to all the eukaryotic life we see today.
An ancestral
green algal could have evolved in the following manner.
As photautotrophic
respiration increased the O2 content of the atmosphere built up
making the air toxic for anaerobes. If an anaerobic heterotroph ingested, but
did not digest an aerobic heterotroph, then it would survive. The aerobe would
gain by having a controlled environment inside the anaerobe. The aerobe would
function like a present day mitochondrion. Result - an aerobic heterotrophic
eukaryote.
Mobility. An amoeboflagellate organism could have joined the
above. Similar to today's slime moulds. The mobility would have given greater
access to food, an advantage for a relatively large organism.
Photosynthesis. Photoautotrophs were responsible for increasing the
O2, so must have been quite common. If one formed a symbiotic
relationship with the mobile aerobic eukaryote, it could function as a
chloroplast, and the whole thing could be classed as an ancestral algal cell. |
Food chain length and food webs -
statistical analysis.
Statistical analyses of real food webs have
revealed some general patterns. It was believed the maximum food chain length
would be around 5, as over 90% of energy is lost at each step, but in practice
much longer lengths have been found. 5 is average for Ythan Estuary in
Scotland. 11-15 is the maximum for tropical rainforests. The prevalence of
omnivory was thought to be rare as it would cause extinction. In practice 30%
in Ythan Estuary and 90% in a valley in Arizona were omnivorous interactions.
There is no relationship between s and c. |
Chlorophyceae
Are found mainly in fresh
water, though some are marine, and some terrestrial in moist situations e.g.
north side of a tree trunk. They have chlorophyll a and b as well as
xanthophylls. Their food reserve is usually starch and their cell wall
components are mainly cellulose and hemicellulose. Their reproduction is
varied, both sexual (iso-, aniso- and oogamy) and asexual. Their morphology is
also very varied ranging from flagellate, unicellular Chlamydomonas to motile
colonial Volvox, non-motile Pleurococcus, filamentous Spirogyra, to larger
parenchymatous forms such as Ulva. It is believed that land plants are
descended from green algae. |
Describe the most important unique characteristics of
angiosperms
The 5 unique characteristics of angiosperms are:
1)Ovule enclosed in maternal tissue 2)Growth of pollen tube penetrates maternal
tissue 3)Double fertilization 4)8 nucleate embryo sac 5) Companion cells formed
from the same mother-cell as sieve tube
1)Closed carpel
Perhaps the
most important advantage of an enclosed ovule is protection from herbivorous
insects eating the flowers and leaves. The ovules are protected till they are
fertilised, and after fertilization while they enlarge and develop. Later the
ovary (fruit) might aid in dispersal by being attractive to animals, which eat
it and distribute the seeds; or it may burst open scattering the seeds.
Distribution was vital to take advantage of changing conditions that occurred
when Panagea broke up.
A closed
carpel also stops self-pollination, encouraging outcrossing, leading to genetic
variation and a greater chance of mutation; another great advantage during
changing conditions. There is also some protection from desiccation; again an
advantage in the drier conditions that followed when the monsoonal weather
patterns ceased.
2)Pollen tube penetrating maternal tissue.
As
mentioned above this is an incompatibility mechanism, preventing
self-pollination and the entry of unsuitable pollen, i.e. pollen from another
species. The increased outcrossing increased genetic variation and form
enabling angiosperms to colonise new areas and evolve relatively quickly,
coping with the rapid changes.
3)Double fertilisation
Leads to the
production of endosperm or swollen cotyledons, these are food reserves, and
contain growth regulating hormones. The originally triploid endosperm undergoes
repeated mitosis. The endosperm of some seeds is very abundant, e.g. cereals;
and situated next to the embryo there is no impediment to the transfer of
metabolites, so enabling rapid development compared to gymnosperms. A great
advantage when colonising new ground.
5)Companion cells
Companion cells
have dense cytoplasm and a prominent nucleus, while the sieve tube has no
nucleus. It is not known what advantage this may have conferred on angiosperms,
but it was probably physiological; possibly better transportation of
photosynthate . The angiosperms became dominant at a time of relatively rapid
change and diversification of habitats. It is their ability to change and
diversify rapidly, both phenotypically and genetically that enabled them to
spread and become dominant. |
Liberation and dispersal of fungal spores the
Ascomycotina and Basidiomycotina
Ascomycotina.
Most of its life
is spent as a haploid mycelium where the individual compartments may contain
one or more nuclei.
Sexual production of spores
For plasmogamy to take
place the mycelium forms a coiled ascogonium containing a long thread-like
hyphae (trichogyne). Antheridia are produced in a similar way. When the
trichogyne contacts a suitable antheridium the cell walls dissolve and the
contents of the antheridium enter the ascogonium. A small strand of dikaryotic
mycelium containing 2 haploid nuclei is produced (ascogonius hypha), the nuclei
fuse to become the diploid ascus initially, then undergo meiosis and mitosis to
give 8 haploid nuclei in the ascus. At maturity the ascus bursts releasing the
spores. Asexual reproduction takes place when the vegetative mycelium produces
conidia containing haploid spores. Most reproduction is asexual, sexual usually
takes place in times of environmental stress as the developing asci can provide
protection during cold etc. and release spores under more favourable
conditions.
Basidiomycotina often form relationships with trees. Their
spores are produced from fruiting bodies usually above ground. These fruiting
bodies are dikaryotic, formed from 2 primary mycelia fusing, usually by "clamp
connections". The 2 nuclei at the hyphal tips of the gills fuse (karyogamy),
then undergo meiosis, resulting in 4 daughter nuclei. The cell forms 4
extensions (basidiophores) into each of which a haploid nucleus migrates. These
spores are pushed out and germinate to form haploid hyphae. |
Island Biogeography.
Continental
islands usually suffer some extinctions as they are supersaturated at
separation. Once equilibrium is reached extinctions usually balance
immigration. Extinctions are few at first because there are few species and
plenty of resources, increasing later as more species go extinct and resources
and niches are occupied. |
Water balance in insects
Insects do not regulate their water balance by sweating or panting, fluid loss is regulated mainly by the rate of secretion of the Malpighian tubules and absorption in the rectum. When they have excess water a diuretic hormone is released which increases the volume of urine entering the gut. When water is in short supply due to environmental conditions, or to the type of food intake, insects are able to survive by absorbing water fro the rectal lumen, even against a concentration gradient. Some insects, e.g. locusts can decrease their respiratory loss six-fold to minimize water loss. |
Salvinia molesta and Cyrtobagous salviniae, an example of successful biocontrol
Salvilia molesta is a floating aquatic fern native to South America, but spread accidentally since 1939 into many tropical rivers, lakes and canals. Its growth is favoured by warm, nitrogen rich water, and it can spread vegetatively. It has no natural enemies outside South America, so rapidly became a serious pest completely blocking waterways and disrupting the livelihood of people who depended on the water for transport, irrigation and food, especially fishing, rice and sago palm. The problem was especially bad in the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea where some villages had to be abandoned as the locals could no longer make a living. By 1980s 2000 km2 of water surface was covered. This was too expensive for manual, mechanical or herbicide removal. Biocontrol was the answer.
In Brazil the fern is controlled by a weevil, but it appeared that certain Salvinias have their own species specific weevils. So the Salvinia had to be correctly identified, then its specific weevil identified. This took until 1978. Previously the Salvinia had been mis-identified. Once the correct weevil had been found and released success was rapid. In Papua New Guinea the villagers were able to re-occupy their villages and live their lives as they had done before. In Sri Lanka the economics of biocontrol were studied in detail and a cost/benefit analysis was done. Returns for financial investment were 53:1, and labour investment was 1678:1. the team responsible for the ecological research leading to the biocontrol were awarded the UNESCO Silence prize in 1985. It was recognised that taxonomists had made essential contributions by establishing the true identity of the salvinia and the weevil. The weevil in question was new to science. |
Garadoume in Niger
Garadoume is located in a river valley, the river is dry for part of the year. the problems faced are lack of water and soil erosion. Bankettes, low stone dykes, were built on the ground raised by a plough along the contours of a very gentle slope. The bankettes were made every 40 metres, and they help to catch silt etc. Crops can be planted within 15 metres of the bankette catchments area. Across the valley floor windbreaks were planted every 100 m to stop topsoil erosion and provide fuel wood. Crops can be grown between the windbreaks. The bankette terraces were made by women's groups. Along the contours of the very gentle slope crescent-shaped mounds of stones help to increase infiltration of water and the trees planted in the depressions help to stabilise the soil. The whole programme was very labour intensive and the locals were involved at every step. Most of the work and organisation was carried out by women. The latest danger is that gravel and sand from the dry river bed is being taken by a big construction company. The women say this makes the river flow faster and therefore there is less water infiltration. They have the support of the local chief, and have dug deep pits in the riverbed to make it impassible to trucks. All of this work has cemented a good community spirit and given the women a feeling of power and achievement. |
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