Meeting Abstract

S4.6  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Behavioral Ecology of Chemical Communication in Plants APPEL , H.M.; University of Missouri appelh@missouri.edu

Plants have complex sensory systems to detect and respond to environmental stimuli. Because they lack specialized cells for neurotransmission, the sophistication of plant sensory systems is often underappreciated. However, like the neural nets of early invertebrates, the decentralized cellular networks of plants communicate electrical and chemical signals from receptors over short and long distances. The ecological context in which plant sensory communication occurs and the selective forces shaping its evolution are better understood than the biochemical and physiological mechanisms underlying its action. We know that plants respond with high sensitivity and high selectivity to signals in their environment. They detect and respond to changes in abiotic stimuli like temperature, light, humidity, wind, and water and nutrient availability with altered patterns of movement, resource allocation, growth, and life history. Similarly, plants respond to biotic stimuli like predators, parasites, pathogens, competitors, mutualists and symbionts to discourage or encourage the interaction. In many cases these behaviors are invisible except as molecular and biochemical responses. Although rarely considered in a neuroecology context, these cumulative plant behaviors shape ecological communities and ecosystems where plants are dominant or keystone species.