Co-Evolution: Angiosperms and Pollinating Animals Essay

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Angiosperms in the most basic of terms refer to seed-producing plants. These plants grow to maturity and reproduce through the production of seeds that are later dispersed through numerous means of seed dispersal such as wind and animal activity among others. The seeds then later germinate and the lineages of the plants continue. However, in this life continuation process, the newer generations of these seed-producing plants have been determined to progressively differ from their parenting plants. This difference is accounted for by the slow but progressive process of evolution.

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The process of seed production is reproduction in which the male gametes commonly referred to as the pollen grains are brought into contact with the female ovules. This process of bringing the two into contact is referred to as pollination and is normally made possible by a myriad of agents key among which are animal.

The most notorious animals in this process are birds and insects. In the process of looking for food in the plants, birds shake off pollens thus making them come into contact with the ovules or in some instances, the bird literally transports the pollen from one plant to another thus necessitating the cross-pollination process (Cronquist 66).

Through time both the plants and the birds have co-evolved. This co-evolution has been basically brought about by the need for a faster and more effective process of reproduction in the plants. The birds need nectar from the flowers, the plants that produce nectar consequently only do so to attract these birds and insects, for the process of drawing nectar from these plants to be possible, the birds progressively developed very length beaks that are bushy at the base.

The plants on the other side progressively developed very length anthers that support the pollens and this is strategically so to ensure that every single movement in the flower causes shakes the anthers and the pollens fall. Some of the pollens would fall onto the bushy beaks of the bird, the softer feathers that develops at the base of the beaks ensures that such pollens are entrapped and safely transported to the next flower as they hop from flower to flower.

Some other animals such as insects that also are agents of the pollination process also co evolves with the plants. Insects are some of the most effective agents of pollination; this is because of their small sizes that allow them complete entry into the petals of the flower. While in there they have no place to settle on and so they keep flapping their wings to stay afloat, this rigorous flapping cause as much pollens to fall onto either the ovaries or the very wings.

To attract as much of these insects and bird as possible, the plants became progressively more brightly colored. The petals are more brightly colored and the flowers produce very sweet scents that attract the insects and the birds. Furthermore the production of the nectar is strategic as well to get as much of the animals as would be possible (Dilcher 87).

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In a summary, the need to pollinate necessitates the plants to evolve and acquire more qualities that would ease this process. The birds on the other hand also evolve features that would make them feed better from these plants, unknowingly the betterment of their feeding features ease the pollination process in the plants.

Works cited

Cronquist, Arthur, An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. Print.

Dilcher, David, “Towards a new synthesis: Major evolutionary trends in angiosperm fossil records”, proceedings of the national academy of scientists 97(13): 7030, 2000. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'Co-Evolution: Angiosperms and Pollinating Animals'. 1 May.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Co-Evolution: Angiosperms and Pollinating Animals." May 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/co-evolution-angiosperms-and-pollinating-animals/.

1. IvyPanda. "Co-Evolution: Angiosperms and Pollinating Animals." May 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/co-evolution-angiosperms-and-pollinating-animals/.


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IvyPanda. "Co-Evolution: Angiosperms and Pollinating Animals." May 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/co-evolution-angiosperms-and-pollinating-animals/.

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