Exam 17: The Evolution of Plant and Fungal Diversity

About 80% of plants have mycorrhizae linking them to

Ferns and mosses are similar because both

The intimate, mutually beneficial association formed between a fungus and the root of a plant is called a

The main causes of the loss of plant biodiversity include

As fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes as decomposers and symbiont partners, scientists are interested in understanding how global climate change may affect fungal diversity. In 2007-2008, scientists visited the maritime Antarctic, an area of the Southern Hemisphere that is noted to be warming the fastest, to conduct a survey of fungal diversity along a climatic gradient (the most prevalent weather conditions of a region along an incline). Twenty-nine soil samples were taken along the gradient. Fungal diversity was measured in operational taxonomic units (OTUs); one OTU = one cluster, or group, of organisms. Here is a portion of the data collected: Source: Newsham, K. K., Hopkins, D. W., Carvalhais, L. C., Fretwell, P. T., Rushton, S. P., O'Donnell, A. G., & Dennis, P. G. (n.d.). Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6, 182-186. -Usable (liquid) water sources in the maritime Antarctic are directly related to air temperatures. Suppose scientists observe climate cooling in the maritime Antarctic over a 10-year period. At the end of the 10 years, scientists revisit the same site to study effects of climate cooling. Considering temperature and water stress tolerance of these organisms, which would be most likely to continue surviving?

In all plants, the zygote and earliest stages of the developing embryo are

Which of the following features would you expect to see in the flowers of wind-pollinated grasses?

Which of the following characteristics tends to limit bryophytes and seedless vascular plants to habitats that are relatively moist?

In plants, the vascular tissue that consists of living cells that distribute sugars throughout the plant is called

Mycorrhizal fungi are sometimes purposely introduced to new areas of land that are used for growing plants for commercial uses (e.g., landscaping, crop production, timber production). What would be the benefit of doing this?

Which structure is found in angiosperms but not gymnosperms?

A leaf with a higher density of stomata can take up more CO₂ and release more water than a leaf with a lower density of stomata. -The stomata found on fossil plants can be a reliable way to measure past carbon dioxide levels. Normally, fossil plants with a high density of stomata indicate ________ carbon dioxide levels and fossil plants with only a few stomata indicate ________ carbon dioxide levels.

A maple tree's seeds occur in pairs that are enclosed and attached to flat "wings" that are made of a papery tissue. The wings' shape allows them to spin in the air as they fall from the tree; this unusual motion has earned them the nickname "helicopter seeds." Maple tree seeds are most successful when they are dispersed by

Which of the following structures is an essential part of most fungal reproductive systems?

Crop plants can have higher densities of stomata on the underside of their leaves than on the surfaces of their leaves. Some scientists hypothesize that that the evolution of this adaptation enhanced the ability of these plants to regulate the rate of CO₂ uptake for each surface. -You designed and performed an experiment that measured CO₂ gas exchange levels at the upper side of a sunflower leaf (fewer stomata) and the bottom side of a sunflower leaf (greater stomata). After collecting and analyzing your data, you conclude that there was not a significant difference in CO₂ gas exchange between the two sides of the leaf. Which of the following possibly explains this finding?

Gas exchange in most land plants occurs through structures called

If fungi of the genus Cordyceps are ingested by insects, fruiting bodies from the fungi will form and erupt through the bodies of the insects and then kill the insect hosts. Since Cordyceps are using the insects as a host for growth and dispersal, these fungi are an example of

Which part of this figure represents the anther?

The type of life cycle seen in plants is called

Which part of the life cycle does a pollen grain represent?