Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology
Evolutionary optimization of material properties of a tropical seed
Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Volume 9, No. 66, Year 2012
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Here, we show how the mechanical properties of a thick-shelled tropical seed are adapted to permit them to germinate while preventing their predation. The seed has evolved a complex heterogeneous microstructure resulting in hardness, stiffness and fracture toughness values that place the structure at the intersection of these competing selective constraints. Analyses of different damage mechanisms inflicted by beetles, squirrels and orangutans illustrate that cellular shapes and orientations ensure damage resistance to predation forces imposed across a broad range of length scales. This resistance is shown to be around the upper limit that allows cracking the shell via internal turgor pressure (i.e. germination). Thus, the seed appears to strike an exquisitely delicate adaptive balance between multiple selection pressures. This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society.
Authors & Co-Authors
Lucas, Peter William
Kuwait, Kuwait City
Kuwait University
Gaskins, John T.
United States, Charlottesville
University of Virginia
Lowrey, Timothy K.
United States, Albuquerque
The University of new Mexico
Harrison, Mark E.
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Indonesia, Palangkaraya
Universitas Palangka Raya
Morrogh-Bernard, Helen C.
Indonesia, Palangkaraya
Universitas Palangka Raya
Cheyne, Susan Mary
Indonesia, Palangkaraya
Universitas Palangka Raya
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Begley, Matthew R.
United States, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
Statistics
Citations: 36
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1098/rsif.2011.0188
ISSN:
17425689
e-ISSN:
17425662