Physiological Mechanisms and Adaptation Strategies in Plants Under Changing Environment

Physiological Mechanisms and Adaptation Strategies in Plants Under Changing Environment
Author: Parvaiz Ahmad
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461485916

The global population is growing at an alarming rate and is anticipated to reach about 9.6 billion by the end of 2050. Addressing the problem of food scarcity for budding population vis-à-vis environmental changes is the main challenge plant biologists face in the contemporary era. Plant growth and productivity are scarce in many areas of the world due to a wide range of environmental stresses. The productive land is dwindling progressively by various natural and anthropogenic means that lead to enormous crop losses worldwide. Plants often experience these stresses and have the ability to withstand them. However, when the stress exceeds the normal tolerance level, plants accumulate organic osmolytes, osmoprotectants, cryoprotectants and antioxidant enzymes, which helps them tolerate these stresses and assist in their acclimatization towards the particular ambiance needed for maintaining their growth and development. Physiological Mechanisms and Adaptation Strategies in Plants Under Changing Environment, Volume 1 discuss drought and temperature stresses and their mitigation through different means. This volume illuminates how plants that are bombarded by diverse and changing environmental stimuli, undergo appropriate physiological alterations that enable their survival. The information covered in the book is also useful in building apposite strategies to counter abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. Written by a diverse group of internationally renowned scholars, Physiological Mechanisms and Adaptation Strategies in Plants Under Changing Environment, Volume 1 is a concise yet comprehensive resource that will be beneficial for the researchers, students, environmentalists and soil scientists of this field.

Adaptive Mechanisms in the Ecology of Vision

Adaptive Mechanisms in the Ecology of Vision
Author: S. Archer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 674
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9401706190

John Lythgoe was one of the pioneers of the 'Ecology of Vision', a subject that he ably delineated in his classic and inspirational book published some 20 years ago [1]. At heart, the original book aimed generally to identify inter-relationships between vision, animal behaviour and the environment. John Lythgoe excelled at identifying the interesting 'questions' in the ecology of an animal that fitted the 'answers' presented by an analysis of the visual system. Over the last twenty years, however, since Lythgoe's landmark publication, much progress has been made and the field has broadened considerably. In particular, our understanding of the 'adaptive mechanisms' underlying the ecology of vision has reached considerable depths, extending to the molecular dimension, partly as a result of development and application of new techniques. This complements the advances made in parallel in clinically oriented vision research [2]. The current book endeavours to review the progress made in the ecology of vision field by bringing together many of the major researchers presently active in the expanded subject area. The contents deal with theoretical and physical considerations of light and photoreception, present examples of visual system structure and function, and delve into aspects of visual behaviour and communi cation. Throughout the book, we have tried to emphasise one of the major themes to emerge within the ecology of vision: the high degree of adaptability that visual mechanisms are capable of undergoing in response to diverse, and dynamic, environments and behaviours.

Genetics of Adaptation

Genetics of Adaptation
Author: Rodney Mauricio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2005-07-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402038364

An enduring controversy in evolutionary biology is the genetic basis of adaptation. Darwin emphasized "many slight differences" as the ultimate source of variation to be acted upon by natural selection. In the early 1900’s, this view was opposed by "Mendelian geneticists", who emphasized the importance of "macromutations" in evolution. The Modern Synthesis resolved this controversy, concluding that mutations in genes of very small effect were responsible for adaptive evolution. A decade ago, Allen Orr and Jerry Coyne reexamined the evidence for this neo-Darwinian view and found that both the theoretical and empirical basis for it were weak. Orr and Coyne encouraged evolutionary biologists to reexamine this neglected question: what is the genetic basis of adaptive evolution? In this volume, a new generation of biologists have taken up this challenge. Using advances in both molecular genetic and statistical techniques, evolutionary geneticists have made considerable progress in this emerging field. In this volume, a diversity of examples from plant and animal studies provides valuable information for those interested in the genetics and evolution of complex traits.

Plant Ecophysiology and Adaptation under Climate Change: Mechanisms and Perspectives II

Plant Ecophysiology and Adaptation under Climate Change: Mechanisms and Perspectives II
Author: Mirza Hasanuzzaman
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 866
Release: 2020-06-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811521727

This book presents the state-of-the-art in plant ecophysiology. With a particular focus on adaptation to a changing environment, it discusses ecophysiology and adaptive mechanisms of plants under climate change. Over the centuries, the incidence of various abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought, extreme temperatures, atmospheric pollution, metal toxicity due to climate change have regularly affected plants and, and some estimates suggest that environmental stresses may reduce the crop yield by up to 70%. This in turn adversely affects the food security. As sessile organisms, plants are frequently exposed to various environmental adversities. As such, both plant physiology and plant ecophysiology begin with the study of responses to the environment. Provides essential insights, this book can be used for courses such as Plant Physiology, Environmental Science, Crop Production and Agricultural Botany. Volume 2 provides up-to-date information on the impact of climate change on plants, the general consequences and plant responses to various environmental stresses.

Surviving Hypoxia

Surviving Hypoxia
Author: Peter W. Hochachka
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2022-11-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1000714217

Surviving Hypoxia: Mechanisms of Control and Adaptation is a synthesis of findings and thoughts concerning hypoxia. The thermodynamics of hypoxia are discussed in detail, including acid-base balance and self-pollution resulting from the accumulation of anaerobic end-products. The book focuses on descriptions and discussions of common facets, contrasting solutions in a variety of physiological hypoxia defense strategies, including those shown by plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Special treatment is given to the distinctive problems that hypoxia presents to vulnerable organs such as the kidney, liver, and brain. It also addresses pathological events in addition to protective mechanisms. Clinical implications of basic research are examined in the book, which provides new insights into underlying pathological processes occuring in hypoxic-induced organ failure and indicates new paths for successful clinical intervention. Surviving Hypoxia: Mechanisms of Control and Adaptation is an excellent reference for all researchers interested in the physiological effects of hypoxia, underlying pathological events, and protective mechanisms.

Webvision

Webvision
Author: Helga Kolb
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2007
Genre:
ISBN:

Mechanisms of Adaptation

Mechanisms of Adaptation
Author: J.R. Spkatch
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 615
Release: 2014-04-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0323163289

The Bacteria: Volume VII: Mechanisms of Adaptation explores the mechanisms of bacterial adaptations and covers topics ranging from bacterial spores, cysts, and stalks to nitrogen fixation, bacterial chemotaxis, bacteriophage growth, and the structure and biosynthesis of bacterial cell walls. The roles of appendages and surface layers in adaptation of bacteria to their environment are also considered, along with cell division in Escherichia coli. This volume is comprised of nine chapters and begins with a discussion on the structure, properties, formation, and regulation of spores, cysts, and stalks in actinomycetes, blue-green bacteria, myxobacteria, Bacillus, Azotobacter, and Caulobacter. The reader is then introduced to the biochemistry, regulation, genetics, and evolution of nitrogen fixing in organisms; the receptors involved in bacterial chemotaxis and the nature of the sensing mechanism; the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria; and bacterial functions involved in nutrient detection and acquisition. The roles played by organelles and surface layers in the adaptation of bacteria to their environment are also examined. The final chapter deals with the regulation of, and coordination between, the multitude of events involved in cell division in Escherichia coli. This monograph will be a useful resource for microbiologists, bacteriologists, biochemists, and biologists.

Adaptation and Natural Selection

Adaptation and Natural Selection
Author: George Christopher Williams
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2018-10-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691185506

Biological evolution is a fact—but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. When Adaptation and Natural Selection was first published in 1966, it struck a powerful blow against those who argued for the concept of group selection—the idea that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. Williams’s famous work in favor of simple Darwinism over group selection has become a classic of science literature, valued for its thorough and convincing argument and its relevance to many fields outside of biology. Now with a new foreword by Richard Dawkins, Adaptation and Natural Selection is an essential text for understanding the nature of scientific debate.

Seed Dispersal by Ants in a Deciduous Forest Ecosystem

Seed Dispersal by Ants in a Deciduous Forest Ecosystem
Author: Elena Gorb
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2003-08-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781402013799

Countless ants transport and deposit seeds and thereby influence the survival, death, and evolution of many plant species. In higher plants, seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) has appeared many times independently in different lineages. More than 3000 plant species are known to utilize ant assistance to be planted. Myrmecochory is a very interesting and rather enigmatic form of mutualistic ant-plant associations. This phenomenon is extremely complex, because there are hundreds of ant species connected with hundreds of plant species. This book effectively combines a thorough approach to investigating morphological and physiological adaptations of plants with elegant field experiments on the behaviour of ants. This monograph is a first attempt at collecting information about morphology, ecology and phenology of ants and plants from one ecosystem. The book gives readers a panoramic view of the hidden, poorly-known interrelations not only between pairs of ants and plant species, but also between species communities in the ecosystem. The authors have considered not just one aspect of animal-plant relationships, but have tried to show them in all their complexity. Some aspects of the ant-plant interactions described in the book may be of interest to botanists, others to zoologists or ecologists, but the entire work is an excellent example of the marriage of these biological disciplines.

Allostasis, Homeostasis, and the Costs of Physiological Adaptation

Allostasis, Homeostasis, and the Costs of Physiological Adaptation
Author: Jay Schulkin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2004-10-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780521811415

The concept of homeostasis, the maintenance of the internal physiological environment of an organism within tolerable limits, is well established in medicine and physiology. In contrast, allostasis is a relatively new idea of 'viability through change'. With allostatic regulation by cephalic involvement, the body adapts to potentially diverse and dangerous situations through the activation of neural, hormonal, or immunological mechanisms. Allostasis explains how regulatory events maintain organismic viability, or not, in diverse contexts with varying set points of bodily needs and competing motivations. This 2005 book introduces the concept of allostasis and sets it alongside traditional views of homeostasis. It addresses basic regulatory systems and examines the behavior of bodily regulation under duress. The basic concepts of physiological homeostasis are integrated with disorders like depression, stress, anxiety and addiction. It will therefore appeal to graduate students, medical students and researchers working in physiology, epidemiology, endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, neuroscience, and psychology.