Gymnosperms Research Paper

Superior Essays
II. Nature is not a Museum
The gymnosperms are often called ‘Living Fossils’, or are dismissed as being primitive. Gymnosperms are indeed ancient: originating in the carboniferous period (Bowe, Coat, & dePamphilis, 2000). They can be divided into four monophyletic groups: ginkophytes, gnetophytes, cycads, and the largest of the four (with more than 600 extant species), conifers. Conifers account for the greatest diversity amongst the gymnosperms. This diversity might pale in comparison to that of the angiosperms, but a group can have biological importance without being speciose. From an ecological point of view, gymnosperm success is in fact comparable to angiosperms, as gymnosperms are thriving in important niches across latitudes. This is
…show more content…
Though specific geographical distributions of gymnosperms are poorly documented, some broad conclusions have been made. For instance, Bond (1989), Coomes et al. (2005), and Lusk (2011) found that competition with angiosperms has limited all living gymnosperms to areas of high latitude and high elevation. This has also been documented in a recent meta-analysis by Fragniere et al. (2015). Gymnosperms hence exhibit the inverse of the general latitudinal diversity gradient: in species richness from the equator to the poles, and decreasing at equatorial latitudes. The observed pattern is apparent when considering gymnosperms as a group and when the group is split into separate lineages. One downfall of their analysis is, however, that the varying availability of land approaching the equator was not taken into account, which would perhaps be a confounding factor. While this needs to be corrected for, the study nevertheless pinpoints an underlying pattern that would likely be retained when standardized by land area available.
Despite the species richness of gymnosperms decreasing as latitudes tend toward the equator, Fragniere et al. (2015) reported that half of all gymnosperms can, in fact, be found between the tropics (the main results of their paper are summarised in box 2). These
…show more content…
In Waring and Franklin’s (1979) classic study, an explanation is put forth as to why large, old conifers dominate the Pacific Northwest forests (summarised in box 3). Specifically, their large size, longevity, leaf shape and carbon balance are considered adaptive advantages. Though the evergreen forests are unique, the conclusions tend to be applicable to other conifer forests – for instance those in Japan and New Zealand (Pacala, et al., 1996).

Additionally, in north temperate ecosystems, Pinaceae are aggressive competitors (Brodribb, Pitterman, & Coomes, 2012). As in Waring and Franklin’s (1979), the Pinaceae’s needle-like leaves, which are tightly packed, protect their vascular tissue and thus allow for a high photosynthetic efficiency and for photosynthetic rates equal or superior to analogous angiosperms. This, in addition to their freeze-thaw resistant vascular systems (Brodribb & Feild, 2008) allow them to disperse across the northern hemisphere (Fragniere, Betrisey, Cardinaux, Stoffel, & Kozlowski, 2015). Similarly, in areas of low temperature and nutrients, Podocarps are able to outperform angiosperms, as their efficient nutrient use allows for survival on lowland soils (Brodribb, Pitterman, & Coomes, 2012). They have also been found to be competitive in tropical forests:

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Haida Gwaii Trees

    • 2123 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Haida Gwaii is often referred to as the “The Canadian Galapagos” with over 6800 species of flora and fauna and presence of more unique subspecies than any other areas in Canada of equal size (Gaston, Golumbia, Martin & Sharpe, 2008). Haida Gwaii is located 80 km west of the mainland of British Columbia and is the largest and most isolated archipelago located on the west coast of Canada (Stockton, Allombert, Gaston & Martin, 2005). As the archipelago is within close proximity of the Pacific Ocean, the climate is a cool temperate, oceanic, humid to perhumid type that is largely moderated by movement of moist air masses off the Pacific Ocean (Banner et al, 2014). This climate gives rise to a temperate rainforest biome, which results in a plant…

    • 2123 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Name:Neko Science Fair Paper Daphnia Magna are small water fleas that are native to Minnesota. They are an indicator of good water quality ( Science buddies,2010 ). Daphnia Magna are small enough to be eaten by dragonflies, and are food for many small to medium sized fish. The reason that we should be paying attention to Daphnia Magna is because of pollution in our lakes. This pollution can affect a lot of actions that we do in our daily lives.…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kermode Bears Kermode bears, also known as Ghost Bears ,and Spirit Bears.. They get their name because “of its rarity and a small percentage of them have white coats”(Beersoftheworld.net). The kermode bear’s name comes from a zoologist named Ursus kermodei. As time went on ,people have believed this bear has evolved for 10,000 Years (Bearsoftheworld.net). Now I will be talking about the spirit bears habitat.…

    • 180 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lockport Site Essay

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Introduction The site that will be discussed within this report is the Lockport Site with the Borden Designation of EaLf-1. Located in Central Manitoba on the eastern bank of the Red River and near the St. Andrews rapids, it is approximately 17 kilometers north of the perimeter Winnipeg. This indicates that this site is within the natural region of the Red River Basin. While this excavation was performed in early summer, the frost free period for the Lockport site is only 100 to 110 days out of the year.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. A). Saylorville and Prospect Park Upland are the most similar communities. This was determined by a value of 48% (Table 4). This suggest that Saylorville and Prospect Park Upland has similar ecosystems.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. Which biodiversity hotspot did you choose to write about? (Give the name) I choose to write about the California Floristic Province. 2.…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Red Bay Experiment

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Results When we look at the results we must compare a native to a non-native to determine if the hypothesis is true. We determined earlier that we will compare American holly with Japanese privet, red bay with Florida anise tree, and kalmia with rhododendron. The American holly seemed to have more healthy leaves than the holly but not by much. The holly had 127 leaves with no damage while the privette had 139 leaves with no damage. The holly then had 97 leaves with less than ten percent damage while there were 107 leaves on the privette.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    all these elks in the park they would eat a lot of the resources and the plants started to struggle. The aspen tree is one example of one of the plants struggling with all these elks because MacNulty says “When you have a lot of snow on the ground, you don’t have access to the grass. ”With…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Why Trees Matter,” author Jim Robbins paints a scientific picture of a simple subject: Trees. People normally don’t give trees much thought, but Jim Robbins does. Robbins is so dedicated to tree conservation that he felt the need to write a whole article about the science behind trees. Throughout the article he provides information on the importance of trees in all of our ecosystems. He reminds us that without trees the whole life cycle would depreciate.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Smoky Mountains are home to a wide variety of plants. The Great Smoky Mountains national park is over 800 square miles, and throughout this vast space is found a large diversity of plants. The national park is over 95% forested, and is sometimes referred to as the “wildflower national park”. While over 12,000 plant species have been discovered in the park, there is evidence that there may be as many as 90,000 unfound species. The range of elevations throughout the Smoky Mountains makes it a suitable habitat for a variety of plant species.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    These plants were supplying plant-eating dinosaurs with lots of nutritious food. Some Mesozoic Era angiosperms included magnolias, laurel, barberry, early sycamores, and palms. Later on is when grass may have evolved. Cretaceous vegetation was increasing in density and species diversity as the quick-to-adapt flowering plants moved throughout the world. Animals during the Cretaceous period had developed just as much as they had in the Jurassic, particularly Dinosaurs.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Evolutionary History Loss

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages

    A high degree of evolutionary history loss by non-random extinction demonstrated by Vamosi and Wilson (2008) disputes the prediction that rare species in large plant families will act as a buffer to evolutionary history loss by preventing the loss of total families and genera. Monotypic and ditypic families are at greater risks of extinction and have a disproportionate effect on evolutionary history loss than larger angiosperm families. Determining which species will have the greatest impact on evolutionary history loss is useful for legislation regarding the allocation of conservation and protection funds. For a complete examination of the evolutionary history loss to be expected by non-random extinction examining angiosperm species that…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “As a general rule, the variety of life is most impoverished at the poles and the richest at low latitudes” (Kolber 152) and this is referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Inorder to prove this phenomenon, more than 30 theories have been advanced. One theory holds that more species live in the tropics because they can produce more generation at lower latitudes and with more generation will come more mutations and a more likely chance of emergence of new species. Kolbert goes around the forest with Silman discovering new species of trees, some of whose leaves are as big as a dinner plate. “The trees were not just trees; they were more like botanical gardens, covered with ferns and orchids...strung with lianas” (Kolbert 155).…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Anhinga Research Paper

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    ( Linnaeus 1766; Nelson 2005) B. Geographic Range 1. Southeast United States to Panama (Encyclopedia of Life) 2.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Animalia Research Paper

    • 1354 Words
    • 6 Pages

    "Animalia" redirects here. For other uses, see Animalia (disambiguation). Animals Temporal range: Cryogenian – Present, 670 –0Ma Had'nArcheanProterozoicPha. Animal diversity.png About this image Scientific classification e Domain: Eukaryota (unranked): Unikonta (unranked): Opisthokonta (unranked): Holozoa (unranked): Filozoa Kingdom: Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 Phyla List of animal phyla Synonyms Metazoa Animals are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that form the biological kingdom Animalia.…

    • 1354 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays