Biodiversité

À l’occasion de la publication en juillet prochain de deux rapports majeurs par l’Ipbes sur « l’évaluation des valeurs associées à la nature » et « l’utilisation durable des espèces sauvages » , la Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité donne la parole à des chercheurs et acteurs pour mieux comprendre ces thématiques et leurs enjeux.  

Most plant species depend on animals to disperse their seeds, but this vital function is threatened by the declines in animal populations, limiting the potential for plants to adapt to climate change by shifting their ranges. Using data from more than 400 networks of seed dispersal interactions, Fricke et al. quantified the changes in seed disposal function brought about globally by defaunation. Their analyses indicate that past defaunation has severely reduced long-distance seed dispersal, cutting by more than half the number of seeds dispersed far enough to track climate change.

240 pages | 16 halftones, 9 line drawings, 6 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2015

The news that a flowering weed—mousear cress (Arabidopsis thaliana)—can sense the particular chewing noise of its most common caterpillar predator and adjust its chemical defenses in response led to headlines announcing the discovery of the first “hearing” plant. As plants lack central nervous…