DOCSLIB.ORG

Volume 1, Chapter 4-6: Adaptive Strategies: Life Cycles

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Volume 1, Chapter 4-6: Adaptive Strategies: Life Cycles Glime, J. M. 2017. Adaptive Strategies: Life Cycles. Chapt. 4-6. In: Glime, J. M. Bryophyte Ecology. Volume 1. Physiological 4-6-1 Ecology Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists. Last updated 5 June 2020 and available at <http://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/bryophyte-ecology/>. CHAPTER 4-6 ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES: LIFE CYCLES TABLE OF CONTENTS Life Strategies .............................................................................................................................................. 4-6-2 Clonal Growth .............................................................................................................................................. 4-6-3 Foraging and Sharing ............................................................................................................................. 4-6-4 Implications for Reproduction ................................................................................................................ 4-6-5 Density Effects ...................................................................................................................................... 4-6-5 Tradeoffs ............................................................................................................................................... 4-6-6 r & K Strategies ............................................................................................................................................ 4-6-7 Bet Hedgers ........................................................................................................................................... 4-6-7 Dedifferentiation Issues ......................................................................................................................... 4-6-8 The r Strategist ...................................................................................................................................... 4-6-8 The K Strategist ..................................................................................................................................... 4-6-8 Life Cycle Strategies .................................................................................................................................... 4-6-9 Diaspore Banks.................................................................................................................................... 4-6-10 Tradeoffs ............................................................................................................................................. 4-6-10 Life Cycle Strategies based on During (1979, 1992) ............................................................................. 4-6-11 Fugitives .................................................................................................................................................... 4-6-11 Fugitives – species that live in unpredictable environments................................................................... 4-6-11 Colonists .................................................................................................................................................... 4-6-11 Colonists (sensu stricto) – species that live where habitat start is unpredictable ..................................... 4-6-11 Colonists .................................................................................................................................................... 4-6-11 Colonists (ephemerals) – gap-dependment species ................................................................................ 4-6-11 Colonists (pioneers) – species that live where habitat start is unpredictable ........................................... 4-6-11 Shuttles ...................................................................................................................................................... 4-6-11 Annual Shuttle – species that require small disturbances that last 1-2 years ........................................... 4-6-11 Short-lived Shuttle – species that don't avoid periods of severe stress .................................................... 4-6-12 Perennial (long-lived) Shuttle – species that require stable environments .............................................. 4-6-12 Perennial Stayers ........................................................................................................................................ 4-6-12 Perennial stayers (competitive) – forest floor ........................................................................................ 4-6-12 Perennial stayers (stress-tolerant) – fens, bogs, desert ........................................................................... 4-6-12 Dominants – bogs ....................................................................................................................................... 4-6-12 Generation Time ......................................................................................................................................... 4-6-13 Habitat Studies ........................................................................................................................................... 4-6-14 Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 4-6-15 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... 4-6-16 Literature Cited .......................................................................................................................................... 4-6-16 4-6-2 Chapter 4-6: Adaptive Strategies: Life Cycles CHAPTER 4-6 ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES: LIFE CYCLES Figure 1. Strap-shaped leaves of males and capsules with perichaetial leaves of females of the dioicous moss Diphyscium foliosum. Photo by Michael Lüth, with permission. Life Strategies By now it must be obvious to you that to understand growth, which implies the increase in size of a the life strategies of bryophytes, one must first understand physiological individual (Söderström 1994). On the other the life cycle (e.g. Figure 1). Frahm and Klaus (2001) state hand, growth can ultimately result in reproduction, as is the that bryophytes are able to react quickly to such events as case when the plant branches and is physiologically climatic fluctuations because of their short life cycle and connected, but later the branches separate and become ease of dispersal by spores. It is likely that when all other physiologically independent. As you can see in Figure 2, plant life has perished from some Earth catastrophe, it will the degree of reproduction by propagules depends on be the bryophytes that persist, surviving as spores or other habitat. Among British habitats, short-lived habitats propagules until conditions return to safety and once again (wood, bark, farmland, dung) have the highest degree of surrounding the earth due to their ability to travel great propagular reproduction (that is, by vegetative means) distances as "dust." (Herben 1994). On the other hand, the habitats with the By definition, the life cycle includes reproduction. greatest percent of the species are in the middle of the However, even such a widely used term has ambiguities. range of propagules. In bryophytes, we shall use this term to refer not only to the Using the principle that extreme conditions might sexual reproduction that results from union of sperm and provide the best test of the limits of an organism, we learn egg (ultimately resulting in spores produced by meiosis), that in the maritime Antarctic, bryophytes seem to have but also to the multitude of asexual (vegetative) means by enhanced sexual reproduction (Lewis Smith & Convey which bryophytes are able to make more, physiologically 2002). This is contrary to the generally accepted belief that independent plants (Mishler 1988). This definition bryophyte fertility decreases toward the poles. Rather, separates reproduction, which can permit relocation, from 43% of the bryophytes (19 species) in Marguerite Bay and Chapter 4-6: Adaptive Strategies: Life Cycles 4-6-3 47% of those on Alexander Island are known to produce of disadvantaged ramets that might later survive in the face capsules. But Lewis Smith and Convey attribute this to of adversity; increased precision with the sequestering of favorable microclimatic conditions. Nevertheless, in this space and dispersal of ramets; ability to monopolize extreme environment, the large majority of mosses with resources for the benefit of the genotype. They capsules were short, monoicous, acrocarpous taxa, furthermore include mobility, but I question whether this is suggesting that the predominance of dioicous taxa in more much of a gain when compared to the alternative of wider temperate climates may be possible because the distribution of propagules away from the parent. environment is less stressful. In the more extreme One possibility that has barely been explored is the environments of the Antarctic continent, the numbers of increase of genetic variability through production of these species producing capsules at similar latitudes (68-72°S) haploid genets. We had long assumed that the limited are much less (33%). morphological development of the Bryophyta and Marchantiophyta reflected a limited genetic diversity, a case to be expected when the dominant generation is haploid and asexual reproduction is common. However,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Phytotaxa, a Synthesis of Hornwort Diversity
    Phytotaxa 9: 150–166 (2010) ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) www.mapress.com/phytotaxa/ Article PHYTOTAXA Copyright © 2010 • Magnolia Press ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) A synthesis of hornwort diversity: Patterns, causes and future work JUAN CARLOS VILLARREAL1 , D. CHRISTINE CARGILL2 , ANDERS HAGBORG3 , LARS SÖDERSTRÖM4 & KAREN SUE RENZAGLIA5 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269; [email protected] 2Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian National Herbarium, Australian National Botanic Gardens, GPO Box 1777, Canberra. ACT 2601, Australia; [email protected] 3Department of Botany, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496; [email protected] 4Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway; [email protected] 5Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901; [email protected] Abstract Hornworts are the least species-rich bryophyte group, with around 200–250 species worldwide. Despite their low species numbers, hornworts represent a key group for understanding the evolution of plant form because the best–sampled current phylogenies place them as sister to the tracheophytes. Despite their low taxonomic diversity, the group has not been monographed worldwide. There are few well-documented hornwort floras for temperate or tropical areas. Moreover, no species level phylogenies or population studies are available for hornworts. Here we aim at filling some important gaps in hornwort biology and biodiversity. We provide estimates of hornwort species richness worldwide, identifying centers of diversity. We also present two examples of the impact of recent work in elucidating the composition and circumscription of the genera Megaceros and Nothoceros.
    [Show full text]
  • Antarctic Bryophyte Research—Current State and Future Directions
    Bry. Div. Evo. 043 (1): 221–233 ISSN 2381-9677 (print edition) DIVERSITY & https://www.mapress.com/j/bde BRYOPHYTEEVOLUTION Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press Article ISSN 2381-9685 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/bde.43.1.16 Antarctic bryophyte research—current state and future directions PAULO E.A.S. CÂMARA1, MicHELine CARVALHO-SILVA1 & MicHAEL STecH2,3 1Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil UnB; �[email protected]; http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3944-996X �[email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2389-3804 2Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands; 3Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands �[email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9804-0120 Abstract Botany is one of the oldest sciences done south of parallel 60 °S, although few professional botanists have dedicated themselves to investigating the Antarctic bryoflora. After the publications of liverwort and moss floras in 2000 and 2008, respectively, new species were described. Currently, the Antarctic bryoflora comprises 28 liverwort and 116 moss species. Furthermore, Antarctic bryology has entered a new phase characterized by the use of molecular tools, in particular DNA sequencing. Although the molecular studies of Antarctic bryophytes have focused exclusively on mosses, molecular data (fingerprinting data and/or DNA sequences) have already been published for 36 % of the Antarctic moss species. In this paper we review the current state of Antarctic bryological research, focusing on molecular studies and conservation, and discuss future questions of Antarctic bryology in the light of global challenges. Keywords: Antarctic flora, conservation, future challenges, molecular phylogenetics, phylogeography Introduction The Antarctic is the most pristine, but also most extreme region on Earth in terms of environmental conditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Coptis Trifolia Conservation Assessment
    CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT for Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. Originally issued as Management Recommendations December 1998 Marty Stein Reconfigured-January 2005 Tracy L. Fuentes USDA Forest Service Region 6 and USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon and Washington CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT FOR COPTIS TRIFOLIA Table of Contents Page List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. 2 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 2 Summary........................................................................................................................................ 4 I. NATURAL HISTORY............................................................................................................. 6 A. Taxonomy and Nomenclature.......................................................................................... 6 B. Species Description ........................................................................................................... 6 1. Morphology ................................................................................................................... 6 2. Reproductive Biology.................................................................................................... 7 3. Ecological Roles ............................................................................................................. 7 C. Range and Sites
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Mosses: What Do They Tell Us About Moss Evolution?
    Bry. Div. Evo. 043 (1): 072–097 ISSN 2381-9677 (print edition) DIVERSITY & https://www.mapress.com/j/bde BRYOPHYTEEVOLUTION Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press Article ISSN 2381-9685 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/bde.43.1.7 Fossil mosses: What do they tell us about moss evolution? MicHAEL S. IGNATOV1,2 & ELENA V. MASLOVA3 1 Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 2 Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia 3 Belgorod State University, Pobedy Square, 85, Belgorod, 308015 Russia �[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1520-042X * author for correspondence: �[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6096-6315 Abstract The moss fossil records from the Paleozoic age to the Eocene epoch are reviewed and their putative relationships to extant moss groups discussed. The incomplete preservation and lack of key characters that could define the position of an ancient moss in modern classification remain the problem. Carboniferous records are still impossible to refer to any of the modern moss taxa. Numerous Permian protosphagnalean mosses possess traits that are absent in any extant group and they are therefore treated here as an extinct lineage, whose descendants, if any remain, cannot be recognized among contemporary taxa. Non-protosphagnalean Permian mosses were also fairly diverse, representing morphotypes comparable with Dicranidae and acrocarpous Bryidae, although unequivocal representatives of these subclasses are known only since Cretaceous and Jurassic. Even though Sphagnales is one of two oldest lineages separated from the main trunk of moss phylogenetic tree, it appears in fossil state regularly only since Late Cretaceous, ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Spore Dispersal Vectors
    Glime, J. M. 2017. Adaptive Strategies: Spore Dispersal Vectors. Chapt. 4-9. In: Glime, J. M. Bryophyte Ecology. Volume 1. 4-9-1 Physiological Ecology. Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists. Last updated 3 June 2020 and available at <http://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/bryophyte-ecology/>. CHAPTER 4-9 ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES: SPORE DISPERSAL VECTORS TABLE OF CONTENTS Dispersal Types ............................................................................................................................................ 4-9-2 Wind Dispersal ............................................................................................................................................. 4-9-2 Splachnaceae ......................................................................................................................................... 4-9-4 Liverworts ............................................................................................................................................. 4-9-5 Invasive Species .................................................................................................................................... 4-9-5 Decay Dispersal............................................................................................................................................ 4-9-6 Animal Dispersal .......................................................................................................................................... 4-9-9 Earthworms ..........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan 2011-2016
    Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan 2011-2016 April 1981 Revised, May 1982 2nd revision, April 1983 3rd revision, December 1999 4th revision, May 2011 Prepared for U.S. Department of Commerce Ohio Department of Natural Resources National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Division of Wildlife Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management 2045 Morse Road, Bldg. G Estuarine Reserves Division Columbus, Ohio 1305 East West Highway 43229-6693 Silver Spring, MD 20910 This management plan has been developed in accordance with NOAA regulations, including all provisions for public involvement. It is consistent with the congressional intent of Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, and the provisions of the Ohio Coastal Management Program. OWC NERR Management Plan, 2011 - 2016 Acknowledgements This management plan was prepared by the staff and Advisory Council of the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve (OWC NERR), in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Wildlife. Participants in the planning process included: Manager, Frank Lopez; Research Coordinator, Dr. David Klarer; Coastal Training Program Coordinator, Heather Elmer; Education Coordinator, Ann Keefe; Education Specialist Phoebe Van Zoest; and Office Assistant, Gloria Pasterak. Other Reserve staff including Dick Boyer and Marje Bernhardt contributed their expertise to numerous planning meetings. The Reserve is grateful for the input and recommendations provided by members of the Old Woman Creek NERR Advisory Council. The Reserve is appreciative of the review, guidance, and council of Division of Wildlife Executive Administrator Dave Scott and the mapping expertise of Keith Lott and the late Steve Barry.
    [Show full text]
  • From Southern Africa. 1. the Genus Dumortiera and D. Hirsuta; the Genus Lunularia and L
    Bothalia 23,1: 4 9 -5 7 (1993) Studies in the Marchantiales (Hepaticae) from southern Africa. 1. The genus Dumortiera and D. hirsuta; the genus Lunularia and L. cruciata S.M. PEROLD* Keywords: Dumortiera, D. hirsuta, Dumortieroideae, Hepaticae, Lunularia, L cruciata. Lunulariaceae, Marchantiaceae, Marchantiales, taxonomy, southern Africa, Wiesnerellaceae ABSTRACT The genera Dumortiera (Dumortieroideae, Marchantiaceae) and Lunularia (Lunulariaceae), are briefly discussed. Each genus is represented in southern Africa by only one subcosmopolitan species, D. hirsuta (Swartz) Nees and L. cruciata (L.) Dum. ex Lindberg respectively. UITTREKSEL Die genusse Dumortiera (Dumortieroideae, Marchantiaceae) en Lunularia (Lunulariaceae) word kortliks bespreek. In suidelike Afrika word elke genus verteenwoordig deur slegs een halfkosmopolitiese spesie, D. hirsuta (Swartz) Nees en L. cruciata (L.) Dum. ex Lindberg onderskeidelik. DUMORTIERA Nees Monoicous or dioicous. Antheridia sunken in subses­ sile disciform receptacles, which are fringed with bristles Dumortiera Nees ab Esenbeck in Reinwardt, Blume and borne singly at apex of thallus on short bifurrowed & Nees ab Esenbeck, Hepaticae Javanicae, Nova Acta stalk. Archegonia in groups of 8—16 in saccate, fleshy Academiae Caesareae Leopoldina-Carolinae Germanicae involucres, on lower surface of 6—8-lobed disciform Naturae Curiosorum XII: 410 (1824); Gottsche et al.: 542 receptacle with marginal sinuses dorsally, raised on stalk (1846); Schiffner: 35 (1893); Stephani: 222 (1899); Sim: with two rhizoidal furrows; after fertilization and 25 (1926); Muller: 394 (1951-1958); S. Amell: 52 (1963); maturation, each involucre generally containing a single Hassel de Men^ndez: 182 (1963). Type species: Dumor­ sporophyte consisting of foot, seta and capsule; capsule tiera hirsuta (Swartz) Nees. wall unistratose, with annular thickenings, dehiscing irre­ gularly.
    [Show full text]
  • Flora of New Zealand Mosses
    FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND MOSSES BRACHYTHECIACEAE A.J. FIFE Fascicle 46 – JUNE 2020 © Landcare Research New Zealand Limited 2020. Unless indicated otherwise for specific items, this copyright work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence Attribution if redistributing to the public without adaptation: "Source: Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research" Attribution if making an adaptation or derivative work: "Sourced from Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research" See Image Information for copyright and licence details for images. CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION Fife, Allan J. (Allan James), 1951- Flora of New Zealand : mosses. Fascicle 46, Brachytheciaceae / Allan J. Fife. -- Lincoln, N.Z. : Manaaki Whenua Press, 2020. 1 online resource ISBN 978-0-947525-65-1 (pdf) ISBN 978-0-478-34747-0 (set) 1. Mosses -- New Zealand -- Identification. I. Title. II. Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. UDC 582.345.16(931) DC 588.20993 DOI: 10.7931/w15y-gz43 This work should be cited as: Fife, A.J. 2020: Brachytheciaceae. In: Smissen, R.; Wilton, A.D. Flora of New Zealand – Mosses. Fascicle 46. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln. http://dx.doi.org/10.7931/w15y-gz43 Date submitted: 9 May 2019 ; Date accepted: 15 Aug 2019 Cover image: Eurhynchium asperipes, habit with capsule, moist. Drawn by Rebecca Wagstaff from A.J. Fife 6828, CHR 449024. Contents Introduction..............................................................................................................................................1 Typification...............................................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Distribution and Phylogenetic Significance of the 71-Kb Inversion
    Annals of Botany 99: 747–753, 2007 doi:10.1093/aob/mcm010, available online at www.aob.oxfordjournals.org Distribution and Phylogenetic Significance of the 71-kb Inversion in the Plastid Genome in Funariidae (Bryophyta) BERNARD GOFFINET1,*, NORMAN J. WICKETT1 , OLAF WERNER2 , ROSA MARIA ROS2 , A. JONATHAN SHAW3 and CYMON J. COX3,† 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 75 North Eagleville Road, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA, 2Universidad de Murcia, Facultad de Biologı´a, Departamento de Biologı´a Vegetal, Campus de Espinardo, 30100-Murcia, Spain and 3Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA Received: 31 October 2006 Revision requested: 21 November 2006 Accepted: 21 December 2006 Published electronically: 2 March 2007 † Background and Aims The recent assembly of the complete sequence of the plastid genome of the model taxon Physcomitrella patens (Funariaceae, Bryophyta) revealed that a 71-kb fragment, encompassing much of the large single copy region, is inverted. This inversion of 57% of the genome is the largest rearrangement detected in the plastid genomes of plants to date. Although initially considered diagnostic of Physcomitrella patens, the inversion was recently shown to characterize the plastid genome of two species from related genera within Funariaceae, but was lacking in another member of Funariidae. The phylogenetic significance of the inversion has remained ambiguous. † Methods Exemplars of all families included in Funariidae were surveyed. DNA sequences spanning the inversion break ends were amplified, using primers that anneal to genes on either side of the putative end points of the inver- sion. Primer combinations were designed to yield a product for either the inverted or the non-inverted architecture.
    [Show full text]
  • Part 4 Appendices
    Part 4 Appendices HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS MARINE RESERVE 139 Appendix 1. Proclamation of Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve 140 MANAGEMENT PLAN HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS MARINE RESERVE 141 142 MANAGEMENT PLAN Appendix 2. Native Fauna of the HIMI Marine Reserve Listed Under the EPBC Act Scientific Name Common Name Birds recorded as breeding Aptenodytes patagonicus king penguin S Catharacta lonnbergi subantarctic skua S Daption capense cape petrel S Diomeda exulans wandering albatross V S M B J A Diomeda melanophrys black–browed albatross S M B A Eudyptes chrysocome southern rockhopper penguin S Eudyptes chrysolophus macaroni penguin S Larus dominicanus kelp gull S Macronectes giganteus southern giant petrel E S M B A Oceanites oceanicus Wilson’s storm petrel S M J Pachyptila crassirostris fulmar prion S Pachyptila desolata Antarctic prion S Pelecanoides georgicus South Georgian diving petrel S Pelecanoides urinatrix common diving petrel S Phalacrocorax atriceps (e) Heard Island cormorant V S Phoebetria palpebrata light mantled sooty albatross S M B A Pygoscelis papua gentoo penguin S Sterna vittata Antarctic tern V S Non–breeding birds Catharacta maccormicki south polar skua S M J Diomedea epomophora southern royal albatross V S M B A Fregetta grallaria white–bellied storm petrel S Fregetta tropica black–bellied storm petrel S Fulmarus glacialoides southern fulmar S Garrodia nereis grey–backed storm petrel S Halobaena caerulea blue petrel V S Macronectes halli northern giant petrel V S M B A Pachyptila belcheri
    [Show full text]
  • Octoblepharum Pocsii (Calymperaceae), a Recently Described African Moss Species New to Laos and Asia
    Phytotaxa 184 (3): 178–180 ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) www.mapress.com/phytotaxa/ PHYTOTAXA Copyright © 2014 Magnolia Press Correspondence ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.184.3.10 Octoblepharum pocsii (Calymperaceae), a recently described African moss species new to Laos and Asia SI HE Missouri Botanical Garden, P. O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected] The genus Octoblepharum Hedwig (1801: 50), consisting of 18 accepted species, is mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with four species in Africa, one in Asia, and the majority of the species in the Neotropics; it is seldom found in temperate latitudes (Eddy 1990, Salazar-Allen 1991, Magill & Allen 2013). Octoblepharum albidum Hedwig (1801: 50) is the most commonly encountered species of the genus, occurring in southern China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines (Eddy 1990, Tan & Iwatsuki 1993) and larger parts of tropical Africa. The species is characterized by a considerable variation in plant and leaf size as well as a habitat preference for trees. As noted by Magill and Allen (2013) there has been an inclination to name all collections of Octoblepharum with eight peristome teeth O. albidum, but this is clearly an oversimplification. During the course of routine identification of moss specimens collected in Laos, I encountered two large-sized plant specimens of Octoblepharum that had eight peristome teeth and unusually long, fragile leaves. The leaves were considerably longer than normal sized O. albidum leaves: 10–13 vs.
    [Show full text]
  • About the Book the Format Acknowledgments
    About the Book For more than ten years I have been working on a book on bryophyte ecology and was joined by Heinjo During, who has been very helpful in critiquing multiple versions of the chapters. But as the book progressed, the field of bryophyte ecology progressed faster. No chapter ever seemed to stay finished, hence the decision to publish online. Furthermore, rather than being a textbook, it is evolving into an encyclopedia that would be at least three volumes. Having reached the age when I could retire whenever I wanted to, I no longer needed be so concerned with the publish or perish paradigm. In keeping with the sharing nature of bryologists, and the need to educate the non-bryologists about the nature and role of bryophytes in the ecosystem, it seemed my personal goals could best be accomplished by publishing online. This has several advantages for me. I can choose the format I want, I can include lots of color images, and I can post chapters or parts of chapters as I complete them and update later if I find it important. Throughout the book I have posed questions. I have even attempt to offer hypotheses for many of these. It is my hope that these questions and hypotheses will inspire students of all ages to attempt to answer these. Some are simple and could even be done by elementary school children. Others are suitable for undergraduate projects. And some will take lifelong work or a large team of researchers around the world. Have fun with them! The Format The decision to publish Bryophyte Ecology as an ebook occurred after I had a publisher, and I am sure I have not thought of all the complexities of publishing as I complete things, rather than in the order of the planned organization.
    [Show full text]