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D: Fragmented plant populations and their lost interactions

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Conservation Genetics

Part of the book series: EXS ((EXS,volume 68))

Abstract

Plants interact with coteries of other organisms for different services. They interact with other plants, with animals, fungi, and microorganisms. Gene dispersers (i.e., pollinators, and fruit and seed dispersers) comprise an important group which must also be viewed in terms of numerous facets of reproductive ecology (i.e., seed set, mate choice, species persistence). These organisms vary in their dispersal ability and patterns of life history variation due to the attributes of both the plant and the animals, and due to the impact of human-induced habitat disturbances.

There may be hundreds of species of orchids hanging on to fencerows as living dead, yet they do not form a viable population when restoration occurs because the pollinators disappeared with the forest. Isolated trees left standing in tropical pastures often have rotting piles of fruit beneath them, mute testimony to the extinct vertebrates that will not reappear even if the pasture trees are giving back terrain on which to grow (Janzen and Martin, 1982).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 540, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    J. M. Olesen

  2. Department of Agronomy and Range Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    S. K. Jain

Authors
  1. J. M. Olesen
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  2. S. K. Jain
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus Ny Munkegade, Building 540, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    V. Loeschcke

  2. Department of Agronomy and Range Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    S. K. Jain

  3. Section of Clinical Genetics, University of Tübingen, Wilhelmstr. 27, D-72074, Tübingen, Germany

    J. Tomiuk

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© 1994 Springer Basel AG

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Olesen, J.M., Jain, S.K. (1994). D: Fragmented plant populations and their lost interactions. In: Loeschcke, V., Jain, S.K., Tomiuk, J. (eds) Conservation Genetics. EXS, vol 68. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-8510-2_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-8510-2_35

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-0348-9657-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-8510-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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