Association for Biology Laboratory Education

Light-Induced Phenotypic Plasticity in Plants
 



Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 1994, Volume 15

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an individual organism to alter its physiology or morphology in response to changes in environmental conditions. This ability is particularly important for the non-motile vascular plants that are unable to move when environmental conditions become unfavourable. This exercise compares morphological and anatomical characteristics of two plant species after 6 weeks of growth under two differing levels of irradiation. Measurements of leaf area, weight, thickness, and anatomy are used to test the hypothesis that species that colonize more variable habitats will show considerable phenotypic plasticity in contrast to species from stable, shaded habitats that show little plasticity.

Keywords:  chlorophyll, phenotypic plasticity, plant growth, leaf anatomy

University of Toronto (1993)