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2007-01-10 | permalink
Rapid evolutionary change may help annual plants cope with global warming better than long-living species
Countering Charles Darwin’s view that evolution occurs gradually, UC Irvine scientists have discovered that plants with short life cycles can evolutionally adapt in just a few years to climate change. This finding suggests that quick-growing plants such as weeds may cope better with global warming than slower-growing plants such as Redwood trees – a phenomenon that could lead to future changes in the Earth’s plant life. “Some species evolve fast enough to keep up with environmental change,” said Arthur Weis, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. “Global warming may increase the pace of this change so that certain species may have difficulty keeping up. Plants with longer life cycles will have fewer generations over which to evolve.”
- University of California, Irvine, USA: Rapid evolutionary change may help annual plants cope with global warming better than long-living species
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UK: Plants point the way to coping with climate change
- Scientific American, USA: Many plants can adapt when climate goes against the grain
Overview
News
2007-01-10 | permalink
Rapid evolutionary change may help annual plants cope with global warming better than long-living species
Countering Charles Darwin’s view that evolution occurs gradually, UC Irvine scientists have discovered that plants with short life cycles can evolutionally adapt in just a few years to climate change. This finding suggests that quick-growing plants such as weeds may cope better with global warming than slower-growing plants such as Redwood trees – a phenomenon that could lead to future changes in the Earth’s plant life. “Some species evolve fast enough to keep up with environmental change,” said Arthur Weis, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. “Global warming may increase the pace of this change so that certain species may have difficulty keeping up. Plants with longer life cycles will have fewer generations over which to evolve.”
- University of California, Irvine, USA: Rapid evolutionary change may help annual plants cope with global warming better than long-living species
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UK: Plants point the way to coping with climate change
- Scientific American, USA: Many plants can adapt when climate goes against the grain
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