Seed plants support terrestrial ecosystems and interact with animals in ways that can benefit or challenge both partners. This lesson explains how plants shape habitats and how herbivory has influenced plant defenses and animal behavior.
Seed plants stabilize soils, help cycle carbon, and moderate climate. Forests and other plant communities store carbon in their tissues and soils. Large tropical forests also take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, functioning as important carbon sinks.
All flashcards
What is herbivory?
Herbivory is the consumption of plants or plant parts by animals.
What is a coevolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores?
Plant defenses favor animals able to feed despite them, while feeding pressure favors better-defended plants.
How do Mexican acacias and acacia ants benefit one another?
Acacias provide ants with nesting spaces in hollow thorns and sugary food; ants protect the trees from herbivores and some other threats.
What is ethnobotany?
Ethnobotany studies relationships between particular cultures and the plants of their regions, including associated knowledge and practices.
What does DNA barcoding do in plant conservation?
It supports species identification by analyzing one or more short gene sequences from well-characterized parts of DNA.
Quiz questions
What does pollination transfer in seed plants?Answer: Pollen from an anther to a stigma.
Which pollen traits are common in wind-pollinated plants?Answer: Their pollen is light and powdery, and often produced in large quantities.
Which combination of flower traits is often associated with hummingbird pollination?Answer: Large, red, long, funnel-shaped flowers with little scent.
In an experiment testing whether an odor attracts flies, why include untreated flowers?Answer: They provide a control for comparison with odor-treated flowers.
What is pharmacognosy?Answer: The branch of pharmacology concerned with medicines derived from natural sources.
Based on Biology 2e by Mary Ann Clark, Matthew Douglas, Jung Choi (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.