Preach! This is such a delicious question. I’m a plant ecologist and have also studied plant macroevolution, so additional reasons that come to mind are perhaps broader than the scope of your list, but in brief I would add:
1. Plants are the basis for most terrestrial ecosystems, defining biomes and determining what other organisms can live there, fundamentally shaping the evolution and behavior of terrestrial animals. Thus they’re also crucial to habitat and biodiversity conservation as a whole. 2. Plant evolution has been just as, if not more complex than animal evolution, with crazy huge genomes, wild levels of diversification, highly innovative adaptations and cases of convergent evolution. They’re not only alive, they also behave.
I’ll keep thinking about this--maybe I’ll even write my own post. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love "you can explain miracles with science"!! Also, your question is a good one. That sense of wonder can so easily take a back seat to just surviving the career.
Preach! This is such a delicious question. I’m a plant ecologist and have also studied plant macroevolution, so additional reasons that come to mind are perhaps broader than the scope of your list, but in brief I would add:
1. Plants are the basis for most terrestrial ecosystems, defining biomes and determining what other organisms can live there, fundamentally shaping the evolution and behavior of terrestrial animals. Thus they’re also crucial to habitat and biodiversity conservation as a whole. 2. Plant evolution has been just as, if not more complex than animal evolution, with crazy huge genomes, wild levels of diversification, highly innovative adaptations and cases of convergent evolution. They’re not only alive, they also behave.
I’ll keep thinking about this--maybe I’ll even write my own post. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you for adding your ecological and evolutionary perspective, Anne! As usual I've been too focused on the molecular.
I do love plant evolution and especially polyploidy. I'll look for your upcoming post!!
It's good to be complementary!
And yes polyploidy is fascinating--I studied a highly polyploid genus in New Zealand so maybe I'll highlight that example!
Studying plants in NZ, what a dream!
Unfortunately I only got to be in NZ for a month and otherwise was on the other side of the world in the UK...but thought a lot about NZ!
I love "you can explain miracles with science"!! Also, your question is a good one. That sense of wonder can so easily take a back seat to just surviving the career.
I have been reading about human bias towards protecting and appreciating "charismatic" species, and I think this applies!