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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Winfried S. Peters

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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology

Legume Phylogeny And The Evolution Of A Unique Contractile Apparatus That Regulates Phloem Transport, Winfried Peters, Claudia Hanakam, Dietmar Haffer, Aart Van Bel, Michael Knoblauch Mar 2010

Legume Phylogeny And The Evolution Of A Unique Contractile Apparatus That Regulates Phloem Transport, Winfried Peters, Claudia Hanakam, Dietmar Haffer, Aart Van Bel, Michael Knoblauch

Winfried S. Peters

Protein bodies called forisomes undergo Ca2+-dependent deformations to occlude sieve tubes reversibly, providing a unique regulatory mechanism of phloem transport. Because forisomes are known exclusively from the Papilionoideae (Leguminosae), the evolution of forisome function may have played a role in the rapid radiation of this huge taxon. The unexpected discovery of a papilionoid species lacking forisomes led us to evaluate a representative set of species covering 33 of the 36 legume tribes traditionally recognized. We found forisomes in Papilionoideae but not in Caesalpinioideae and Mimosoideae. Forisomes were absent from several species of the papilionoid tribe Galegeae. Forisomes with tail-like protrusions …

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Life History, Sexual Dimorphism And 'Ornamental' Feathers In The Mesozoic Bird Confuciusornis Sanctus., Winfried S. Peters, Dieter Stefan Peters Sep 2009

Life History, Sexual Dimorphism And 'Ornamental' Feathers In The Mesozoic Bird Confuciusornis Sanctus., Winfried S. Peters, Dieter Stefan Peters

Winfried S. Peters

The life history of Confuciusornis sanctus is controversial. Recently, the species’ body size spectrum was claimed to contradict osteohistological evidence for a rapid, bird-like development. Moreover, sexual size dimorphism was rejected as an explanation for the observed bimodal size distribution since the presence of elongated rectrices, an assumed ‘male’ trait, was uncorrelated with size. However, this interpretation (i) fails to explain the size spectrum of C. sanctus which is trimodal rather than bimodal, (ii) requires implausible neonate masses and (iii) is not supported by analogy with sexual dimorphisms in modern birds, in which elongated central rectrices are mostly sex-independent. Available …

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An Outline Of A Theory Of The Constructional Constraints Governing Early Organismic Evolution, Winfried S. Peters, Bernd Herkner Jun 2000

An Outline Of A Theory Of The Constructional Constraints Governing Early Organismic Evolution, Winfried S. Peters, Bernd Herkner

Winfried S. Peters

This paper has no abstract; this is the first paragraph. The origin of life is one of the most fascinating biological enigmas (Dyson 1985, de Duve 1991). A multitude of hypotheses is available, ranging from the classical "primordial broth" (Haldane 1929) to the "genetic takeover" (Cairns-Smith 1982). Most of these models center on biochemical, metabolic, or genetic aspects. To our knowledge a comprehensive investigation into the mechanical constraints governing the early development of organismic constructions is not available to date. Attempting to close this gap, we here present an outline of a theory of the transformation of constructions in early …

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Pollination Of The Crown Imperial Fritillaria Imperialis By Great Tits Parus Major, Winfried S. Peters, Michael Pirl, Gerhard Gottsberger, Dieter Stefan Peters Feb 1995

Pollination Of The Crown Imperial Fritillaria Imperialis By Great Tits Parus Major, Winfried S. Peters, Michael Pirl, Gerhard Gottsberger, Dieter Stefan Peters

Winfried S. Peters

Visitations of flowers of the Crown Imperial by Great Tits at two different locations in Hessen, Germany, in 1990 and 1993 are described. The observations prove that flowers were visited because of the nectar; most likely pollination occurs during this visits. Similar reports from Europe are discussed. The significance of specific interactions including ecological generalists such as the Great Tit is considered in the context of the phylogenetic reconstruction of the development of co-adaptive syndroms.

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Die Konsequenzen Eines Lebens Im Druckbehälter. Biotheoretische Implikationen Der Organisation Pflanzlicher Organismen [The Consequences Of Living In A Pressure Pot. Biotheoretical Implications Of The Organismic Architecture Of Plants], Winfried Peters, Hubert Felle Jun 1992

Die Konsequenzen Eines Lebens Im Druckbehälter. Biotheoretische Implikationen Der Organisation Pflanzlicher Organismen [The Consequences Of Living In A Pressure Pot. Biotheoretical Implications Of The Organismic Architecture Of Plants], Winfried Peters, Hubert Felle

Winfried S. Peters

Die Betrachtung der sich aus der zellulären Osmo- und Druckregulation ergebenden konstruktiven Zwänge erlaubt es, invariante Eigenschaften makroskopischer Pflanzen abzuleiten. Sessilität wird als grundsätzlich unumgänglich erkannt; Autotrophie als zwangsläufige Ernährungsform kann nur durch Parasitismus oder Beteiligung an Symbiosen umgangen werden. Hieraus ergibt sich die Antwort auf die Frage nach dem “Unterschied” zwischen Tieren und Pflanzen: die Bildung clonarer Kolonien (Metapopulationen) kann bei sessilen Organismen besonders plausibel begründet werden, zumal, wenn diese autotroph leben. Sessilität stellt bei Tieren eine Option, bei makroskopischen Pflanzen aber eine Notwendigkeit dar. Das Vorherrschen des Konstruktionstyps “Metapopulation” bei Pflanzen ist damit vorgezeichnet; dies ist letztlich eine …

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