Biophysical and size-dependent perspectives on plant evolution

Physical laws and processes have profoundly influenced plant evolution. Their effects are invariably size dependent and thus subject to scaling as well as biophysical analyses even though these effects differ depending upon the fluid (water or air) in which plants evolve. Although organisms cannot o...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of experimental botany. - 1985. - 64(2013), 15 vom: 22. Nov., Seite 4817-27
1. Verfasser: Niklas, Karl J (VerfasserIn)
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2013
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Journal of experimental botany
Schlagworte:Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review Algae allometry constraints embryophytes fossil record scaling relationships.
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Physical laws and processes have profoundly influenced plant evolution. Their effects are invariably size dependent and thus subject to scaling as well as biophysical analyses even though these effects differ depending upon the fluid (water or air) in which plants evolve. Although organisms cannot obviate the effects of physical laws and processes, the consequences of these effects can be altered by ontogenetic or phylogenetic alterations in geometry, shape, or orientation as well as in body size. These assertions are examined using theoretical insights and empirical data drawn from extant and fossil plants pertinent to four evolutionary transitions: (1) the evolution of multicellularity, (2) the transition from an aquatic to an aerial habitat, (3) the evolution of vascular tissues, and (4) the evolution of secondary growth by the independent acquisition of cambia. This examination shows how physical laws limit phenotypic expression, but how they also simultaneously provide alternative, potentially adaptive possibilities
Beschreibung:Date Completed 02.06.2014
Date Revised 06.11.2013
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status MEDLINE
ISSN:1460-2431
DOI:10.1093/jxb/ers379