Unravelling the evolution of autumn colours: an interdisciplinary approach

Leaf colour change is commonly observed in temperate deciduous forests in autumn. This is not simply a side effect of leaf senescence, and, in the past decade, several hypotheses have emerged to explain the evolution of autumn colours. Yet a lack of crosstalk between plant physiologists and evolutio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2009-03, Vol.24 (3), p.166-173
Main Authors: Archetti, Marco, Döring, Thomas F., Hagen, Snorre B., Hughes, Nicole M., Leather, Simon R., Lee, David W., Lev-Yadun, Simcha, Manetas, Yiannis, Ougham, Helen J., Schaberg, Paul G., Thomas, Howard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Biological
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Color
Color Perception
Compound Eye, Arthropod - physiology
Forestry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General forest ecology
Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology
Insecta - physiology
Plant Leaves - anatomy & histology
Plant Leaves - metabolism
Plant Leaves - physiology
Seasons
Trees - anatomy & histology
Trees - metabolism
Trees - physiology
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Summary:Leaf colour change is commonly observed in temperate deciduous forests in autumn. This is not simply a side effect of leaf senescence, and, in the past decade, several hypotheses have emerged to explain the evolution of autumn colours. Yet a lack of crosstalk between plant physiologists and evolutionary ecologists has resulted in slow progress, and so the adaptive value of this colour change remains a mystery. Here we provide an interdisciplinary summary of the current body of knowledge on autumn colours, and discuss unresolved issues and future avenues of research that might help reveal the evolutionary meaning of this spectacle of nature.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2008.10.006