Question

2. What is the evolutionary purpose of the intraspecies communication used by the acacia trees? Describe a hypothetical scenario in which this adaptation may have evolved. Type the answer please

Answer 1

Co-evolution occurs when two or more species affect each other's evolution reciprocally through the process of natural selection.The coordination of growth and development in plants, like in all other organismic kingdoms, is possible only by using signs than pure mechanics.Trees communicate using pheromones and other scent signals.For example when a giraffe starts chewing acacia leaves, the tree notices the injury at the site emitting a distress signal in the form of ethylene gas. The neighboring acacias detect this gas and start pumping tannins into their leaves. Understanding the use of these signs in communication processes is essential. Chemical molecules are used as signal carriers. They may function as signals, messenger substances, information carriers and memory medium in either solid, liquid or gaseous form.

A hypothetical situation is the one where the plant, due to it's excessive damage from eating by herbivores, have evolved the mechanism of interspecies communications in order to protect themselves from the over exploitation by these herbivores.