Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Identifying Sources Of The Tragedy Of The Commons In Root Competition: A Spatially Explicit Simulation Model And Plants Grown In Transparent Growth Medium, R Deric Leith Miller

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Existing research shows that plants produce less root when growing alone than when growing in competition with other plants. When plants under root competition over-allocate resources to roots at the cost of reproduction, it represents a Tragedy of the Commons. I constructed simulation models to determine the circumstances likely to give rise to a Tragedy of the Commons, and explore mechanisms by which plants may solve it. I grew plants in nutrient-rich transparent gel, allowing me to quantify root growth and development without destructive sampling. My plants responded positively to additional space and the presence of a competitor at full …