| Range |
~4 days
|
| Organism |
Parasitic plant Cuscuta spp. (dodder) |
| Reference |
Trewavas A. The foundations of plant intelligence. Interface Focus. 2017 Jun 6 7(3):20160098. doi: 10.1098/rsfs.2016.0098. p.9 right column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID28479977
|
| Primary Source |
[93] Kelly CK. 1990 Plant foraging: a marginal value model and coiling response in Cuscuta subinclusa. Ecology 71, 1916–1925 link [94] Kelly CK. 1992 Resource choice in Cuscuta europaea. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 89, 12194–12197 PubMed ID11607344
|
| Method |
Primary source [93] abstract: "Stems of the parasitic plant Cuscuta subinclusa (Convolvulaceae) discriminate among host species and invest in resource acquisition (coil around the stem of a host plant) relative to host quality in a way predicted by a marginal value model of resource use." Primary source [94] abstract: "Individual stems with growing tips of dodder (Cuscuta europaea) were transplanted onto host plants (hawthorn) of varying nutritional status." |
| Comments |
P.9 right column 2nd paragraph: "A detailed time course of parasitism showed that typically the parasite coils around its host, a process continuing for about 4 days and which then ceases presumably controlled by feedback [primary sources]. Once finished, haustorial formation commences and the numbers are determined by the number of coils. The energy outlay here is the extent of coiling while the subsequent parasite growth over 28 days indicates the energy gain. By making measurements on six different hosts and plotting energy gain/energy outlay a linear relation was observed indicating agreement with the Charnov [ref 90] model of animal foraging. Thus dodder optimizes this crucial ratio. Estimates are made of the energy outlay in terms of number of coils to be produced in the first few hours of contact and before any commitment to exploit. It is not known how dodder makes these future intelligent assessments but they match many animal foraging assessments but, of course, without a neural system." |
| Entered by |
Uri M |
| ID |
113535 |