Written by the leading experts in the field, this book examines the evolutionary advantages of gender dimorphism and sexual dimorphism in flowering plants. Divided into three sections: the first introduces readers to the tremendous variety of breeding systems and their evolution in plants and sets the stage for a consideration of the evolution of dimorphism in reproductive and non-reproductive characters. The second section deals with the evolution of secondary sexual characters, including the theory related to the evolution of sexual dimorphism and its empirical patterns, while the last section deals with the genetics of gender expression and of secondary sexual characters.
Indispensable for all plant biologists, this is a fascinating and thorough examination of those factors which affect the sex determination of plant species, describing all of the main classes of plant with unisexual flowers hermaphrodite, monoecious and
This book maintains that higher plants manifest some degree of sexual selection, and it begins to build a framework that unifies many features of plant reproduction previously considered unrelated. Reviewing evidence for sexual selection in plants, the authors discuss possible male-female interactions, concluding with an extensive set of hypotheses for testing. Mechanisms that could be employed in sexual selection in plants include various cellular mechanisms, such as both nuclear and cytoplasmic genetics, B chromosomes, and paternal contributions to the zygote, as well as abortion, double fertilization, delayed fertilization, and certain forms of polyembryony. This study compares the consequences of these processes for the evolution of mate choice in "gymnosperms" and angiosperms.
Studies in floral biology are largely concerned with how flowers function to promote pollination and mating. The role of pollination in governing mating patterns in plant populations inextricably links the evolution of pollination and mating systems. Despite the close functional link between pollination and mating, research conducted for most of this century on these two fundamental aspects of plant reproduction has taken quite separate courses. This has resulted in suprisingly little cross-fertilization between the fields of pollination biology on the one hand and plant mating-system studies on the other. The separation of the two areas has largely resulted from the different backgrounds and approaches adopted by workers in these fields. Most pollination studies have been ecological in nature with a strong emphasis on field research and until recently few workers considered how the mechanics of pollen dispersal might influence mating patterns and individual plant fitness. In contrast, work on plant mating patterns has often been conducted in an ecological vacuum largely devoid of information on the environmental and demographic context in which mating occurs. Mating-system research has been dominated by population genetic and theoretical perspectives with surprisingly little consideration given to the proximate ecological factors responsible for causing a particular pattern of mating to occur.
A century of research on heterostylous plants has passed since the publication of Charles Darwin's book "The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species" in 1877 summarizing his extensive observations and experiments on these complex breeding systems involving genetic polymorphisms of floral sex organs. Since then heterostylous plants have provided a rich source of material for evolutionary biologists and today they represent one of the classic research paradigms for approaches to the study of evolution and adaptation. The present book is the first modern and comprehensive accont of the subject. In 10 chapters it is concerned with the evolution, genetics, development, morphology, and adaptive significance of heterostyly. Broad syntheses of research on heterostyly as well as new theoretical ideas and experimental data are included.
This collection of 20 chapters written by leading evolutionary biologists from around the globe provides a fascinating insight into the patterns and causes of differences between males and females in the natural world.
Sexual reproduction is the predominant mode of perpetuation for flowering plant species. Investigating the reproductive strategies of plants has grown to become a vast area of research and, in crop plants, covers events from flowering to fruit and seed development; in wild species, it extends up to seed dispersal and seedling recruitment. Thus, reproduction determines the extent of yield in crop plants and, in wild plants, also determines the efficacy of recruiting new adults to the population, making this field important both from fundamental and applied plant biology perspectives. Moreover, in light of the growing concerns regarding food and nutritional security for the growing population and preserving biological diversity, reproductive biology of flowering plants has acquired special significance. Extensive studies on various facets of reproduction are being carried out around the world. However, these studies are scattered across research journals and reviews from diverse areas of biology. The present volume covers the whole spectrum of reproductive ecology, from phenology and floral biology, to sexuality and pollination biology/ecology including floral rewards, breeding systems, apomixis and seed dispersal. In turn, transgene flow, its biosafety and mitigation approaches, and the ‘global pollinator crisis’, which has become a major international concern in light of the urgent need to sustain crop yield and biodiversity, are discussed in detail. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for students, teachers and researchers of botany, zoology, ecology, agriculture and forestry, as well as conservation biologists.
