Dataset Information

Biomechanical tactics of chiral growth in emergent aquatic macrophytes.

ABSTRACT: Through natural selection, many plant organs have evolved optimal morphologies at different length scales. However, the biomechanical strategies for different plant species to optimize their organ structures remain unclear. Here, we investigate several species of aquatic macrophytes living in the same natural environment but adopting distinctly different twisting chiral morphologies. To reveal the principle of chiral growth in these plants, we performed systematic observations and measurements of morphologies, multiscale structures, and mechanical properties of their slender emergent stalks or leaves. Theoretical modeling of pre-twisted beams in bending and buckling indicates that the different growth tactics of the plants can be strongly correlated with their biomechanical functions. It is shown that the twisting chirality of aquatic macrophytes can significantly improve their survivability against failure under both internal and external loads. The theoretical predictions for different chiral configurations are in excellent agreement with experimental measurements.

SUBMITTER: Zhao ZL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4518234 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Biomechanical tactics of chiral growth in emergent aquatic macrophytes.

Zhao Zi-Long ZL Zhao Hong-Ping HP Li Bing-Wei BW Nie Ben-Dian BD Feng Xi-Qiao XQ Gao Huajian H

Scientific reports 20150729

Through natural selection, many plant organs have evolved optimal morphologies at different length scales. However, the biomechanical strategies for different plant species to optimize their organ structures remain unclear. Here, we investigate several species of aquatic macrophytes living in the same natural environment but adopting distinctly different twisting chiral morphologies. To reveal the principle of chiral growth in these plants, we performed systematic observations and measurements o ...[more]

PMID: 26219724

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Project description:Trophic interactions between mobile animals and their food sources often vector resource flows across ecosystem boundaries. However, the quality and quantity of such ecological subsidies may be altered by indirect interactions between seemingly unconnected taxa. We studied whether emergent macrophytes growing at the aquatic-terrestrial interface facilitate multi-step aquatic-to-terrestrial resource flows between streams and terrestrial herbivores. We also explored whether aquatic animal aggregations indirectly promote such resource flows by creating biogeochemical hotspots of nutrient cycling and availability.We tested whether white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in eastern North America vector nutrient fluxes from streams to terrestrial ecosystems by consuming emergent macrophytes (Justicia americana) using isotope and nutrient analyses of fecal samples and motion-sensing cameras. We also tested whether mussel-generated biogeochemical hotspots might promote such fluxes by surveying the density and nutrient stoichiometry of J. americana beds growing in association with variable densities of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionoida).Fecal samples from riparian deer had 3% lower C:N and 20% lower C:P ratios than those in upland habitats. C and N isotopes suggested riparian deer ate both terrestrial and aquatic (J. americana) vegetation, whereas upland deer ate more terrestrial foods. Motion-sensing cameras showed deer eating J. americana more than twice as frequently at mussel-generated hotspots than non-mussel sites. However, mussels were not associated with variation in J. americana growth or N and P content-although N isotopes in J. americana leaves did suggest assimilation of animal-derived nutrients.Our findings suggest that white-tailed deer may conduct significant transfers of aquatic-derived nutrients into terrestrial habitats when they feed on macrophytes and defecate on land. Whether aquatic animal aggregations promote such resource flows by creating biogeochemical hotspots remains unresolved, but the nearly global distributions of the deer family (Cervidae) and of macrophytes suggest that cervid-driven aquatic-to-terrestrial nutrient flows may be widespread and ecologically important.

Dataset Information

Biomechanical tactics of chiral growth in emergent aquatic macrophytes.

Publications

Biomechanical tactics of chiral growth in emergent aquatic macrophytes.

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