NewsClick

NewsClick
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Covid-19
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • International
  • Sports
  • Articles
  • Videos
search
menu

INTERACTIVE ELECTION MAPS

image/svg+xml
  • All Articles
  • Newsclick Articles
  • All Videos
  • Newsclick Videos
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • Sports
  • International
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Palestine
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • US
  • West Asia
About us
Subscribe
Follow us Facebook - Newsclick Twitter - Newsclick RSS - Newsclick
close menu
×
For latest updates on nCOVID-19 around the world visit our INTERACTIVE COVID MAP
Environment
Science

Flower Colors Changing in Response to Change in Global Temperature and Ozone Level

Over the past 75 years, flowers have changed UV absorbing pigments found in their petals, says research.
Sandipan Talukdar
30 Sep 2020
flowers

Image is for representational use only. Image Courtesy: better.net.

Amidst the changing global climate, both plants and animals have found ways to adapt themselves. Two prominent means of adaptation have been shifting the primary habitat to new territories and shifting of the breeding seasons. However, things may go beyond the gross change in behavior that many species have adapted and even lead to changes at molecular level. Nevertheless, years of such subtle changes can potentially give rise to noticeable traits that have not been observed before.

Imagine a situation where flowers subtly changing their colors year after year result into new coloration in a flowering plant that has hitherto been unseen. In fact, this is happening. A research paper published in Current Biology suggests that over the past 75 years, flowers have changed their UV absorbing pigments, found in their petals, as a mean to adapt to the rapidly changing global temperature and ozone level.

The UV absorbing pigments in flowers are invisible to the human eyes, but they can attract pollinators. They can also act as sort of a sunscreen for the flowers -- the more UV absorbing pigments are carried by the petals of a plant, the less harmful UV radiation could reach sensitive cells. Similar to its impact on humans, UV radiation can also damage the pollen of a flower.

The lead author of the research paper, Matthew Koski and his team previously found that flowers growing at higher elevations and closer to the equator, which are areas with very high UV radiation, had more of the UV absorbing pigments in their petals. The current research was an extension of this where Koski probed whether global temperature rise and depletion of ozone layer, as a result of human activities, can influence the UV pigmentation in flowering plants.

Chasing the question, Koski and his team collected plants from herbariums that included 1,238 flowers from 42 different plant species. The data sample includes North America, Europe and Australia. The herbarium samples were collected from 1941-2017, spanning a time period of 75 years.

They used a UV sensitive camera and photographed the UV pigments in flower petals of the same species collected at different times. They hereafter, matched the changes in pigmentation to the local ozone level and temperature.

Their analysis found that on an average, pigments in flowers have increased by 2% per year in the period 1941-2017. These changes also varied depending on the structure of the flower. Flowers with saucer-shaped structure that have their pollens exposed, increase the pigment when ozone level went down and reversibly decrease pigment when ozone level get higher. On the other hand, flowers that have their pollens concealed within the petals, decrease the UV pigment when temperature increases. This was found regardless of the change in the ozone level.

Colors in flowers are produced by pigments, especially by the anthocyanins--the chemical that is included in the class of chemicals known as the flavonoids. Other pigments are carotenoids, which give the typical color to carrots and also tomatoes. Changing in the pigment pattern means change in flower colors.

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
Flower Color Pigment
Flower Color Change Due to Climate Change
Ozone Layer Depletion
UV Pigment in Flower
Flavonoids
climate change
Related Stories
Climate Ambition Summit

The Climate Cloud and a Thin Silver Lining

sukhna lake ch.

Chandigarh’s Famous Sukhna Lake Losing Its Migratory Birds

Climate Change Impacts Arid Regions of Wealthier and Poorer Countries Differently: Study

Climate Change Impacts Arid Regions of Wealthier and Poorer Countries Differently: Study

Climate change.

Climate Change: Autumn Leaves May Fall 3-6 Days Earlier by Century-End, Says Study

Trans Himalaya

Pitfalls of Tree Planting Without Understanding Ecosystem and People-centred Natural Climate Solutions

Climate Change Causing Hurricanes to Stay Strong for Longer, Move Further Inland

Climate Change Causing Hurricanes to Stay Strong for Longer, Move Further Inland

Climate change

Uttarakhand Govt Cancels 5-Year Climate Change Centre Project Midway

Scientists use Indian Ocean Earthquake Sound to Tell How Fast it is Warming

Scientists use Indian Ocean Earthquake Sound to Tell How Fast it is Warming

Climate Study of Past 66 Million

Climate Study of Past 66 Million Years Reveals Earth’s Temperature Rise as Unprecedented

COVID-19 Lockdown Didn’t Help Much in Reducing Carbon Emission: UN Report

COVID-19 Lockdown Didn’t Help Much in Reducing Carbon Emission: UN Report

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share

Related Stories

Sandipan Talukdar

Climate Change: Tropical Rain Belt of Earth May Alter Position, Says New Research

19 January 2021
While man-made climate change has already
Sandipan Talukdar

Global Warming Emergency: 2020 Hottest Year Ever Recorded Along with 2016

12 January 2021
Year 2020 witnessed the joint highest global temperature on record, along with 2016 which previously held the record for this heat.
Noam Chomsky, Vijay Prashad

Three Major Threats to Life on Earth that we Must Address in 2021

06 January 2021
Large parts of the world—outside of China and a few other countries—face a runaway virus, which has not been stopped because of criminal incompeten

Pagination

  • Next page ››

More

  • XI jinping.

    Pandemic Far from Over, but Winter Can’t Stop Spring: Xi Jinping

  • Telangana: Turmeric Farmers Demand BJP MP Arvind’s Resignation

    Telangana: Turmeric Farmers Demand BJP MP Arvind’s Resignation

  • COVID-19: Latest Sero Survey Hints Delhi Could be Heading Toward ‘Herd Immunity'

    COVID-19: Latest Sero Survey Hints Delhi Could be Heading Toward ‘Herd Immunity'

  • Militant Activities Increasing in J&K Border Districts with Higher Recovery of Arms, Say Security Officials

    Militant Activities Increasing in J&K Border Districts with Higher Recovery of Arms, Say Security Officials

  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with
about