Question

Given the warming climate, you are interested in how seed production of a certain plant species if affected by temperature. In particular, you are interested in whether seed production shows a plastic response to temperature, and, if so, whether there is the possibility for adaptive evolution of phenotypic plasticity in response to climate change. Please describe the steps that would be needed to demonstrate there is the capacity for adaptive evolution in the population you are studying.

Answer 1

We know phenotypic plasticity of plants is to express different phenotype under different environmental conditions. Phenotypic plasticity in plants generally include shape, size and thickness of leaves, size of seeds, allocation of more nutrients to roots depending on environment etc.To demostrate that there is the capacity in plants for adaptive evolution (by showing phenotypic plasticity in seed production) in response to climate change - It is also to be noted that when environmental variation occurs at a time scale shorter than the life span of a plant, any response from the plant to these changes are termed as phenotypic plasticity. Following steps could describe plants phenotypic plasticity in seed production-

1- Change in seed size (smaller or bigger depending on the enviromental factors)

2- Buds with different (larger or smaller) number of seeds.

3- Seeds with longer or shorter germination time

4- Seeds having thicke or thinner outer coating on them

5- Change in frequency of seed production by plant in its life span

6- Change in number of seed produced by plants in one cycle etc