Carlos M. Herrera
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226327938
- eISBN:
- 9780226327952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226327952.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter elaborates myriad mechanisms in subindividual variability in organ traits that might in the long run have some nontrivial evolutionary consequences for the plants. It is seen that the ...
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This chapter elaborates myriad mechanisms in subindividual variability in organ traits that might in the long run have some nontrivial evolutionary consequences for the plants. It is seen that the fitness effects of within-plant variation in organ traits are not much better established to date for discrete than for continuous variation. It is shown that “division of labor” exploitation of environmental patchiness or partitioning of environmental gradients need not be restricted either to discontinuous variation or to the partitioning of the physical, abiotic environment. The biotic environment represented by pollinators or seed dispersers is also susceptible to partitioning, or “division of labor,” by structures borne on the same plant performing the same function but differing slightly in their phenotypic characteristics.Less
This chapter elaborates myriad mechanisms in subindividual variability in organ traits that might in the long run have some nontrivial evolutionary consequences for the plants. It is seen that the fitness effects of within-plant variation in organ traits are not much better established to date for discrete than for continuous variation. It is shown that “division of labor” exploitation of environmental patchiness or partitioning of environmental gradients need not be restricted either to discontinuous variation or to the partitioning of the physical, abiotic environment. The biotic environment represented by pollinators or seed dispersers is also susceptible to partitioning, or “division of labor,” by structures borne on the same plant performing the same function but differing slightly in their phenotypic characteristics.
