Re: [aroid-l] How does A. titanum do it?
- Subject: Re: [aroid-l] How does A. titanum do it?
- From: M*@cs.com
- Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 23:30:49 EDT
In a message dated 9/12/2002 7:22:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
callen@fairchildgarden.org writes:
> The conclusion of the conversation with my friend was that it seemed rather
> odd that a species (or many) had evolved into such a precarious corner!
>
In a stable environment, they can get away with it. Once it destabilizes,
they find themselves a dead end. Usually generalists, not specialists, are
the founders of the great evolutionary radiations.
In the absence of large-scale disturbance (including human activity), each
plant need only replace itself, producing one surviving offspring in the
course of its life. In the presence of such disturbance, when part of the
population is destroyed, then those species with higher reproductive rates
flourish (i.e., each plant surviving the upheaval replaces both itself and
one or more of those lost).
Jason Hernandez
Naturalist-at-Large
