An Enthusiasm for Orchids: Sex and Deception in Plant Evolution
An Enthusiasm for Orchids: Sex and Deception in Plant Evolution
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DOI：
10.5860/choice.44-2109
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发表时间：
2005-11
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
J. Alcock
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Alcock
雄蜂对性的极度热情对野生锤兰花的繁殖至关重要。锤兰是共同进化而来的，它们产生的气味与雌蜂发出的气味完全相同。雄性黄蜂对雌性伴侣气味的高度敏感是锤兰欺骗的基础--实际上，兰花利用雄性昆虫高度适应的嗅觉来繁殖自己。虽然给兰花授粉是浪费时间，因此对黄蜂来说是一种不适应的活动，但他犯的错误是因为每当他感觉到附近可能有配偶时，他必须迅速做出反应。阿尔科克认为，“对于昆虫来说，犹豫不决的人就是迷失的人，尽管说犹豫不决的人往往会失去传递基因的机会。”这本书巧妙地解释了这些异常复杂的花朵是如何形成现在的形状的。读者可以探索兰花生物学和历史的许多方面，从一些物种如何避免近亲繁殖，到兰花的起源，从属于芦笋家族的祖先。阿尔科克研究了兰花的每一种成分，解释了不同部分是如何协同工作来产生兰花的微小后代的。兰花的每一种元素，尽管看起来很古怪，但在生物学上都具有重要意义，带有自然选择的印记。读者可以分享达尔文和所有其他兰花爱好者在理解这些最奇妙的植物的最微小细节时所感受到的喜悦。
The male thynnine wasp's extreme sexual enthusiasm is crucial to reproduction of hammer orchids in the wild. Hammer orchids have co-evolved to produce odors identical to those manufactured by female thynnine wasps. The male wasp's superb sensitivity to the scent of his female mate is the basis for the hammer orchid's deceit--in effect, orchids exploit the male insect's highly adaptive sense of smell for their own propogation. While pollinating orchids is a waste of time, and thus a maladaptive activity for a wasp, his mistake comes about because he must react quickly whenever he senses a possible mate nearby. Alcock suggests that, "for insects, he who hesitates is lost, although perhaps it would be better to say that he who hesitates often loses a chance to pass on his genes." This book abounds with clever explanations for how these exceptionally complex flowers came to be shaped as they are. The reader can explore many aspects of orchid biology and history ranging from how some species avoid inbreeding, to the origins of orchids from an ancestor that belonged to the asparagus family. Examining each component of an orchid's flower, Alcock explains how the various parts work together to produce the plant's minute offspring. Each element of an orchid, as quirky as it may seem, is biologically significant, bearing the imprint of natural selection. Readers can share in the delight that Darwin and all other orchid enthusiasts have felt in making sense of even the smallest of details of these most wonderful plants.