Event Details

LEC plant science seminar series

Francis Darwin (1877) observed that insects drown and accumulate in the cup-like cavity formed by the leaves of Dipsacus sylvestris. He hypothesised that this could be an example of plant carnivory in its early stages. Since then, few studies other than Shaw and Shackleton’s 2011 investigation have scrutinised this phenomenon.Their experimental feeding of Dipsacusfullonum (common teasel, Fig.1) did not result in increased non-reproductive biomass, but did cause a 30% increase in seed set and seed mass:biomass ratio. These data allied with a paucity of further data supporting potential carnivory in the teasel has sparked our curiosity. We posit that, in order for any plant to have evolved carnivory, its ancestors will have passed through stages of proto-carnivory. Thus, morphological and molecular traits that have evolved for one purpose might serendipitously provide secondarily advantageous proto-carnivory functions. Further selection may result in these adaptations acquiring primary function status as differential reproduction favours further enhancement of those traits. This study aims to determine whether D. fullonum leaf cups provide the plant with supplementary nutrients via capture, digestion and subsequent absorption of invertebrate prey. A population of D. fullonum established on urban waste ground was initially studied to determine aspects of morphology and molecular analysis of leaf cup water, whilst a common garden experiment for more specific ecological energetic analyses is ongoing.