Morphological plasticity of Salvinia herzogii (de La Sota) in response to crowding - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v28i1.1056

Abstract

Plasticity is defined as a variation in the phenotypic expression of a genotype that occurs in response to special conditions that increase the capacity of an individual to survive and reproduce under those conditions. The present study tested the effect of different population densities on the submerged and free floating leaves of Salvinia herzogii. Individuals of this free-floating macrophyte were collected in the Paranapanema River and brought to the laboratory where they were conditioned in tanks with three different densities. A significant reduction in the leaves width that were under medium and low densities was observed. We inferred that S. herzogii was able to alter the morphology of the leaves in response to density, contemplating in an evolutionary strategy that increases the ability to compete for resources