Ecophysiology of carnivorous plants

HF168 Ecophysiology of carnivorous plants Aaron Ellison Lubomir Adamec 2011

Identification of trade-offs among physiological and morphological traits and their use in cost-benefit models and ecological or evolutionary optimization arguments have been hallmarks of ecological analysis for at least 50 years. Carnivorous plants are model systems for studying a wide range of ecophysiological and ecological processes and the application of a cost-benefit model for the evolution of carnivory by plants has provided many novel insights into trait-based cost-benefit models. Central to the cost-benefit model for the evolution of botanical carnivory is the relationship between nutrients and photosynthesis; of primary interest is how carnivorous plants efficiently obtain scarce nutrients that are supplied primarily in organic form as prey, digest and mineralize them so that they can be readily used, and allocate them to immediate versus future needs. Most carnivorous plants are terrestrial - they are rooted in sandy or peaty wetland soils - and most studies of cost-benefit trade-offs in carnivorous plants are based on terrestrial carnivorous plants. However more than 10% of carnivorous plants are unrooted aquatic plants. By examining data published between 1980 and 2011, we ask whether the cost-benefit model applies equally well to aquatic carnivorous plants and what general insights into trade-off models are gained by this comparison. Nutrient limitation is more pronounced in terrestrial carnivorous plants, which also have much lower growth rates and much higher ratio of dark respiration to photosynthetic rates than aquatic carnivorous plants. Phylogenetic constraints on ecophysiological trade-offs among carnivorous plants remain unexplored. Despite differences in detail, the general cost-benefit framework continues to be of great utility in understanding the evolutionary ecology of carnivorous plants. We provide a research agenda that if implemented would further our understanding of ecophysiological trade-offs in carnivorous plants and also would provide broader insights into similarities and differences between aquatic and terrestrial plants of all types.

carnivorous plants evolution photosynthesis plant physiology respiration

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http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu:8080/exist/xquery/data.xq?id=hf168 Global -180 +180 +90 -90 1980 2011 genus Dionaea species sp. genus Drosera species sp. genus Nepenthes species sp. genus Pinguicula species sp. genus Sarracenia species sp. genus Triphyophyllum species sp. genus Utricularia species sp. Aaron Ellison Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 aellison@fas.harvard.edu Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 (978) 724-3595 http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu

We review literature on carnivorous plant ecophysiology published between 1980 and 2011. These data are placed in the context of a broader understanding of differences and similarities in fundamental ecophysiological traits - structural characteristics, growth patterns and rates, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake and use - of aquatic and terrestrial carnivorous plants. We then use these contrasts to assess cost-benefit relationships among these traits in aquatic and terrestrial carnivorous plants and ask whether these patterns can inform trait-based models for plants growing in either terrestrial or aquatic habitats. In addition, we explore how phylogeny may have constrained observed patterns of the evolution of botanical carnivory. This broad analysis is used to outline a set of research needs to further our understanding of the evolutionary physiology of carnivorous plants and to incorporate them fully into general trait-based models of plant form and function. For more details see: Ellison, A. M., and L. Adamec. 2011. Ecophysiological traits of terrestrial and aquatic carnivorous plants: are the costs and benefits the same? Oikos.

hf168-01-RGR-comp.csv relative growth rate hf168-01-RGR-comp.csv 25734 1 #x0A column , http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p16/hf168/hf168-01-RGR-comp.csv rgr relative growth rate gramPerGramPerDay 0.01 real lifeform one of: Aquatic carnivorous Aquatic rooted herbs Aquatic unrooted herbs Terrestrial carnivorous Terrestrial graminoid Terrestrial herbaceous dicots lifeform species Latin binomial (Genus + species) Latin binomial (Genus + species) reference original data source. See file hf168-04-references.csv original data source 429 hf168-02-RD-Amax.csv dark respiration and photosynthesis hf168-02-RD-Amax.csv 9869 1 #x0A column , http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p16/hf168/hf168-02-RD-Amax.csv Rd mass-based dark respiration rate in nmol CO2 g-1 s-1 nanomolePerGramPerSecond 0.1 real Amax mass-based net photosynthetic rate in nmol CO2 g-1 s-1 nanomolePerGramPerSecond 0.01 real type one of: Aquatic carnivorous Terrestrial carnivorous Aquatic unrooted herbs Aquatic rooter herbs type category refers to the plant part actually measured plant carnivorous structure is both leaf and trap lamina non-carnivorous trap-supporting structure in Nepenthes or phyllodia in Sarracenia traps carnivorous trap leaves non-carnivorous leaves in Utricularia or leaves in non-carnivorous plants species Latin binomial (Genus + species) Latin binomial (Genus + species) suppfeed binary 1 plant received supplemental prey or nutrients 0 plant received no supplemental prey or nutrients reference original data source. See file hf168-04-references.csv original data source 136 hf168-03-NPK.csv NPK hf168-03-NPK.csv 8256 1 #x0A column , http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p16/hf168/hf168-03-NPK.csv family plant family plant family species Latin binomial (Genus + species) Latin binomial (Genus + species) lamina lamina 1 trap measured 0 non-carnivorous trap-supporting structure in Nepenthes measured lifeform lifeform ACP aquatic carnivorous plant TCP terrestrial carnivorous plant pctN percent nitrogen in tissue (percent of dry mass) dimensionless 0.01 real pctP percent phosphorus in tissue (percent of dry mass) dimensionless 0.01 real pctK percent potassium in tissue (percent of dry mass) dimensionless 0.01 real reference original data source. See file hf168-04-references.csv original data source 122 hf168-04-references.csv references hf168-04-references.csv 11816 1 #x0A column u http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p16/hf168/hf168-04-references.csv reference reference reference 64