Emery Lab publishes seed dispersal evolution study in Functional Ecology
Did you know?…
Most plants have only one opportunity to pick the location they live, and this occurs at the very beginning of their life cycle.
Scientists have long predicted that the dispersal traits of an organism should evolve to “match” the patterns of spatial and temporal variability in their habitat. In a new study published in Functional Ecology, former PhD student Courtney Van Den Elzen, former Emery Lab undergraduate Nate Sigman, and Nancy Emery summarize a series of experiments testing this hypothesis in a group of closely-related, wind-dispersed plant species. Using field experiments, a wind tunnel, and a custom-made drop tube, Van Den Elzen and team found that dispersal traits evolve rapidly, function differently in different environments, and can only partially be explained by habitat characteristics.
