Topic 17: Seed Plants: Angiosperms Part 2 Flashcards

• how common is abiotic pollination by water

  rare
• what is abiotic pollination by water limited to

  aquatic plants
• how does abiotic pollination by water work

  pollen floats on the water's surface drifting until it contacts flowers
• approx what percent of angiosperms are wind-pollinated

  20%
• wind pollinated species release large amounts of what

  pollen
• what is the benefit of pollination by wind

  no reliance of pollinators so no natural selection for colourful or scented flowers
• what are two physical characteristics of flowers that are pollinated by wind

  -small-inconspicuous
• what percent of angiosperm species rely on animals for pollination (biotic)

  ~80%
• the diversity of floral morphology is related to the what

  modes of pollination
• how do flowers communicate their presence

  scent and colour
• many flowers match rewards and attractants to what

  the metabolic needs and sensory capabilities of their pollinators
• what percent of all flowering plants are pollinated by insects

  ~65%
• what is the most important insect pollinators

  bees :)
• what colours are bees attracted to

  bright & primary colours: mainly blue and yellow
• ~80% of angiosperm species rely on what 4 kinds of animals for pollination

  -moths and butterflies-flies-bats-birds
• what kind of flowers are moths and butterflies attracted to (2)

  -sweet-bright/ light coloured
• what kind of flowers are flies attracted to (2)

  -smell like rotten meat-red colour
• what kind of flowers are bats attracted to (2)

  -highly aromatic -light colour
• what kind of flowers are birds attracted to (2)

  -birds have a poor sense of smell, so non-scented flowers-bright red or bright yellow
• many flowering plants have coevolved with what

  specific pollinators
• What is coevolution?

  the joint evolution of interacting species in response to selection imposed by each other.
• Each species involved in coevolution exerts what


  exerts selective pressure on the other, so they evolve together (coevolve).
• Shapes and sizes of flowers often correspond to what

  pollen transporting parts of their animal pollinators.
• how is the coevolution of flowers and animal pollinators a symbiotic relationship (2)

  -The plant expends less energy on pollen production and instead produces showy flowers, nectar, and/or scents. -Pollinator rewarded with nectar and/or pollen for pollinating.
• what resulted physically in the flower and the animal after the coevolution of darwin's orchid (2)

  -Moth-pollinated plant with "nectar spurs" or tubes that are the exact length of the hawk-moth tongue (28 cm).-Long spurs force the moths to rub their heads in the pollen as they reach for the nectar → pollination.
• Do flowering plants reproduce sexually, asexually or both?


  all of the above
• many angiosperms reproduce both

  sexually and asexually
• sexual reproduction results in what

  offspring that are genetically different from their parents
• what does asexual reproduction result in? what is it also called?

  a clone of genetically identical organisms; also called vegetative reproduction.
• What is fragmentation?

  separation of parent plant into parts that develop into whole plants (very common type of asexual reproduction).
• what is apomixis

  the asexual production of seeds from a diploid cell
• What are the advantages of asexual reproduction? (2)

  -can be beneficial to successful plants in stable environments.-Rapid growth and establishment of fragmentation clones.
• what are the advantages of sexual reproduction? (1)

  -generates genetic variation that makes evolutionary adaptation possible.
• What are the disadvantages of asexual reproduction? (1)

  a population of clonal plants vulnerable to local extinction if environment changes (lack of genetic variation).
• What are the disadvantages of sexual reproduction? (1) what is a way some flowers overcome at disadvantage? what are the disadvantages of it? (2)


  -only a fraction of seedlings surviveSome flowers can self-fertilize to ensure every ovule will develop into a seed... but:-Loss of genetic variation from inbreeding. -Many species evolved mechanisms to prevent self-fertilization.
• what percent of angiosperm species have complete flowers

  ~88%
• when is there a high potential for self-fertilization


  when pollination occurs in the same flower or between flowers in the same plant
• some angiosperms are self-what

  self-compatible
• what does it mean when angiosperms are self-compatible


  absence of genetic mechanisms which prevent self-fertilization resulting in plants that can reproduce successfully via both self-pollen and pollen from other individuals.
• what is advantageous about angiosperms that are self-compatible

  when plants are isolated or pollinators are rare