Phenotypic plasticity, parental effects, and parental care in plants? I. An examination of spike reflectance inPlantago lanceolata(Plantaginaceae)

Abstract

We explore the relationships among phenotypic plasticity, parental effects, and parental care in plants by presenting data from four experiments examining reflectance/color patterns in Plantago lanceolata. In three experiments, we measured spike (inflorescence) reflectance between 362 and 850 nm using a spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere. Experiments show that (1) spike reflectance changes seasonally within and outside the visible portion of the spectrum of radiant energy, (2) increasing ambient temperature causes an individual plant to produce flowering and fruiting spikes that reflect more/lighten in color (the greatest changes occur in the regions around 550 nm and between 750 and 850 nm, the visible and near-infrared regions, respectively), (3) responses are reversible, (4) genotypes within populations and populations from different latitudes differ in mean reflectance and degree of phenotypic plasticity. In a fourth experiment, we measured internal spike temperature. Darker spikes, those produced at lower temperature, got hotter than did lighter spikes in full sun. Thus, plants can partially thermoregulate reproduction and the embryonic development of their offspring. In light of a previous experiment, data suggest that thermoregulation produces adaptive parental effects and is a mechanism by which P. lanceolata provides parental care.

Effects of causal networks on the structure and stability of resource allocation trait correlations

“…The actual standardized effects deviated somewhat from these values because trait values were scaled by their environmental variances, which represented different proportions of the total variances in different traits depending on the path model and the particular genetic effects that were simulated. Standardized path coefficients with absolute values in the vicinity of 0.5 were within the range observed in empirical studies with life-history traits ( Lacey andHerr, 2005 andScheiner et al, 2000), and were also close to the midrange of estimated values we have obtained from simplified path models constructed from observed traits in A. lyrata(D.L. Remington, unpublished data).…”

The Bracts of Saussurea velutina (Asteraceae) Protect Inflorescences from Fluctuating Weather at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China

“…The reflectance of reproductive tissues was hypothesized to influence flower temperature (Lacey and Herr, 2005). In order to examine the reflective spectra of bracts in S. velutina, 20 plants with bracts covering their inflorescences were collected in July 2006, were sealed immediately in plastic bags, and were transported to the laboratory in an insulated ice box within 24 h and stored at , 5 uC.…”

Relationship between flowering phenology, pollen production and atmospheric pollen concentration of Plantago lanceolata (L.)

“…The differences between points depended mainly on the characteristics of the land on which plants developed, as also noted for other species (Fornaciari et al 2000;Jato et al 2002). As in Aerobiologia other species, water availability in the plots was also important to trigger flowering (Kang et al 2003;Lacey and Herr 2005;Oteros et al 2013). According to García-Mozo et al (2009), flowering dates in herbaceous plants are more closely determined by water availability.…”

“…Temperature was higher during the first weeks of study in 2008 than in 2007. The effect of rising temperatures on flowering advancement in P. lanceolata was highlighted by Lacey and Herr (2005). González-Parrado et al (2014a) reported that higher temperatures, SH and EV control the development, production and emission of Plantago pollen.…”

“…Flowering begins with stigma emergence, and then, petal lobes and anthers emerge. Flowers open sequentially from the bottom of the inflorescence (Lacey and Herr 2005).…”