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The spores are dispersed through a catapult-like system, flinging the spores out briefly at up to 10m/s. This is caused by the gradual build up of a high negative pressure (200-300 atmospheres) within annulus cells from water loss. [1] As these cells lose water, they shrink, and are designed to inwardly bend on the outer face of the annulus.
Dispersal is also used to describe the movement of propagules such as seeds and spores. Technically, dispersal is defined as any movement that has the potential to lead to gene flow. [1] The act of dispersal involves three phases: departure, transfer, and settlement. There are different fitness costs and benefits associated with each of these ...
At that time, the elaters uncoil to extend out from the spore and will catch air currents. The fact that they are extended only when conditions are dry means that successful spore dispersal is more likely. The mature strobili of a horsetail (Equisetum arvense). A cross section through a horsetail strobilus, showing spores with elaters.
A diaspore of seed plus elaiosome is a common adaptation to seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory). This is most notable in Australian and South African sclerophyll plant communities. [1] Typically, ants carry the diaspore to their nest, where they may eat the elaiosome and discard the seed, and the seed may subsequently germinate.
The species releases spores through an 'air-gun' mechanism, launching them 15 cm (5.9 in) high at speeds up to 3.6 m (12 ft) per second (about 8 miles per hour). This mechanism, combined with the spores' slow settling speed, enables effective wind dispersal over long distances. [22] When the spores land, they can start growing immediately.
In leptosporangiate ferns, the fern catapults its spores 1-2 cm so they can be picked up by a second dispersal vector, often the wind. [4]Autochory is the dispersal of diaspores, which are dispersal units consisting of seeds or spores, using only the energy provided by the diaspore or the parent plant. [5]
Most bryophytes, such as these mosses, produce stalked sporophytes from which their spores are released. The non-vascular land plants, namely the mosses (Bryophyta), hornworts (Anthocerotophyta), and liverworts (Marchantiophyta), are relatively small plants, often confined to environments that are humid or at least seasonally moist.
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. [1] Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants , algae , fungi and protozoa . [ 2 ]