000			02401cam a2200241M 4500
001			ocn957240903
003			OCoLC
005			20170404171847.0
008			160901s2017 xx 000 0 eng d
020			_a0198745605
020			_a9780198745600
035			_a(OCoLC)957240903 _z(OCoLC)960842250
040			_aYDX _beng _cYDX _dOCLCQ _dBTCTA _dBDX _dWURST
082			_a 581.38
100			_aWalter, Dale _eauthor _928313
245	1	0	_aFortress plant : _bhow to survive when everything wants to eat you / _cDale Walters
260			_aOxford (England) _bOxford University Press _c2017.
300			_aXVII, 212 pages : _billustrations ; _c24 cm.
520			_aThe survival of plants on our planet is nothing short of miraculous. They are virtually stationary packages of food, providing sustenance for a vast array of organisms, ranging from bacteria and fungi, through to insects, and even other plants. But plants are master survivors, having coped with changing environments and evolving predators over much of the history of life on earth. They have surveillance systems and defences that would put most modern armies to shame. They need to have a formidable armoury, because their enemies have sophisticated weaponry of their own. In this often hostile world, battles are fought daily, often to the death. These battles are not trivial - they matter, because life on this fragile planet of ours depends on plants. In this book Dale Walters takes readers on a journey through these battlefields, exploring how predators try to fool plants' surveillance systems and, if they manage to do so, how they gain access to the nourishment they require. Incredibly, successful attackers can manipulate plant function in order to suppress any attempt by the plant to mount defensive action, while at the same time ensuring a steady supply of food for their own survival. Walters shows how plants respond to such attacks, the defences they use, and how the attacked plant can communicate its plight to its neighbours. These skirmishes represent the latest stage in an unending evolutionary war between plants and organisms that feed on them. These battles might be on a micro scale, but they are every bit as fierce, complicated, and fascinating as the battles between animal predators and prey.
650		0	_928314 _aPlants _xAdaptation.
942			_2ddc _cNONFIC
948			_hHELD BY NZWMT - 5 OTHER HOLDINGS
999			_c38591 _d38591