The study of interactions and their impacts on communities is a fundamental part of ecology. Much work has been done on measuring the interactions between species and their impacts on relative abundances of species. Progress has been made in understanding of the interactions at the ecological level, but we know that co-evolution is important in shaping the structure of communities in terms of the species that live there and their characteristics. Continue reading
Interactions between plants and pollinators tend to be highly generalized.
In 1980, Janzen published an article titled “When is it coevolution?” where he explained the concept of diffuse coevolution: the idea that evolution of interacting species is shaped by entire communities, rather than simple paired interactions. This idea, though compelling, remains poorly understood, and strong evidence of diffuse coevolution acting on a community is lacking. Perhaps this is because there’s a lack of consensus on what would constitute evidence in support of the concept of diffuse coevolution, or, indeed, coevolution in general (Nuismer et al 2010). Continue reading
In a new Methods in Ecology and Evolution video, Javier Puy outlines a new method of experimental plant DNA demethylation for ecological epigenetic experiments. While the traditionally-used approach causes underdeveloped root systems and high mortality of treated plants, this new one overcomes the unwanted effects while maintaining the demethylation efficiency. The authors demonstrate its application for ecological epigenetic experiments: testing transgenerational effects of plant–plant competition.
This novel method could be better suited for experimental studies seeking valuable insights into ecological epigenetics. As it’s based on periodical spraying of azacytidine on established plants, it’s suitable for clonal species reproducing asexually, and it opens the possibility of community-level experimental demethylation of plants.
This video is based on the article ‘Improved demethylation in ecological epigenetic experiments: Testing a simple and harmless foliar demethylation application‘ by Puy et al.
A drawer from the Oxford Long-Term Ecology Lab (OxLEL) pollen reference collections, which has been digitised into the Global Pollen Project reference set.
The Global Pollen Project is a new, online, freely available tool developed to help people identify and disseminate palynological resources. Palynology – the study of pollen grains and other spores – is used across many fields of study modern and fossil vegetation dynamics, forensic sciences, pollination, beekeeping, and much more. This platform helps to facilitate cross/multi-disciplinary integration and discussion, outsourcing identifications, expertise and the sharing of knowledge.
Successful conservation of rare, threatened, and valuable plants is dependent on an understanding of the threats that they face. Also, conservationists must prioritise species and populations based on their value to humans, which may be cultural, economic, medicinal, etc. The study of fossil pollen (palaeoecology), deposited through time in sediments from lakes and bogs, can help inform the debate over which species to prioritise: which are native, and when did they arrive? How did humans impact species richness? By establishing such biodiversity baselines, policymakers can make more informed value judgements over which habitats and species to conserve, especially where conservation efforts are weighted in favour of native and/or endemic flora. Continue reading
