Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress
In this study we compared the biomonitoring potential of various types of flower asymmetry indices in <i>Iris pumila</i> (Dwarf Bearded Iris). We chose 197 naturally growing clones from the arid steppe habitat in the largest sandy area in Europe (Deliblato Sands Nature Reserve), and we t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Symmetry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/11/6/818 |
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| author | Nataša Barišić Klisarić Danijela Miljković Stevan Avramov Uroš Živković Aleksej Tarasjev |
| author_facet | Nataša Barišić Klisarić Danijela Miljković Stevan Avramov Uroš Živković Aleksej Tarasjev |
| author_sort | Nataša Barišić Klisarić |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study we compared the biomonitoring potential of various types of flower asymmetry indices in <i>Iris pumila</i> (Dwarf Bearded Iris). We chose 197 naturally growing clones from the arid steppe habitat in the largest sandy area in Europe (Deliblato Sands Nature Reserve), and we transplanted two replicates of each clone to a polluted highway site with a heavy traffic flow. After a period of acclimatization, lower levels of photosynthetic pigment concentrations and higher stomatal density and specific leaf area in transplants verified that the chosen highway site was indeed more stressful and therefore suitable for estimation of the flower asymmetry biomonitoring potential. We analyzed radially and bilaterally symmetrical flower structures (radial fluctuating asymmetry (RA) and bilateral fluctuating asymmetry (FA)) on three perianth parts—falls, standards, and styles—and calculated various asymmetry indices based on linear and geometric morphometrics. Despite utilizing a heavily polluted environment and fairly large sample sizes, only one asymmetry index was significantly higher on the polluted site with demonstrated stressful effects on utilized plants, indicating that flower asymmetry was not an efficient method for biomonitoring in the case of <i>I. pumila</i> RA and FA indices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:23:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-01ada9656f1545f98da9f5c7bad47ea3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-8994 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:23:16Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Symmetry |
| spelling | doaj.art-01ada9656f1545f98da9f5c7bad47ea32022-12-22T02:58:33ZengMDPI AGSymmetry2073-89942019-06-0111681810.3390/sym11060818sym11060818Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental StressNataša Barišić Klisarić0Danijela Miljković1Stevan Avramov2Uroš Živković3Aleksej Tarasjev4Department of Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaIn this study we compared the biomonitoring potential of various types of flower asymmetry indices in <i>Iris pumila</i> (Dwarf Bearded Iris). We chose 197 naturally growing clones from the arid steppe habitat in the largest sandy area in Europe (Deliblato Sands Nature Reserve), and we transplanted two replicates of each clone to a polluted highway site with a heavy traffic flow. After a period of acclimatization, lower levels of photosynthetic pigment concentrations and higher stomatal density and specific leaf area in transplants verified that the chosen highway site was indeed more stressful and therefore suitable for estimation of the flower asymmetry biomonitoring potential. We analyzed radially and bilaterally symmetrical flower structures (radial fluctuating asymmetry (RA) and bilateral fluctuating asymmetry (FA)) on three perianth parts—falls, standards, and styles—and calculated various asymmetry indices based on linear and geometric morphometrics. Despite utilizing a heavily polluted environment and fairly large sample sizes, only one asymmetry index was significantly higher on the polluted site with demonstrated stressful effects on utilized plants, indicating that flower asymmetry was not an efficient method for biomonitoring in the case of <i>I. pumila</i> RA and FA indices.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/11/6/818developmental instabilitybilateral and radial fluctuating asymmetrylinear and geometric morphometrics<i>Iris pumila</i>biomonitoring |
| spellingShingle | Nataša Barišić Klisarić Danijela Miljković Stevan Avramov Uroš Živković Aleksej Tarasjev Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress Symmetry developmental instability bilateral and radial fluctuating asymmetry linear and geometric morphometrics <i>Iris pumila</i> biomonitoring |
| title | Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress |
| title_full | Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress |
| title_fullStr | Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress |
| title_full_unstemmed | Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress |
| title_short | Radial and Bilateral Fluctuating Asymmetry of <i>Iris pumila</i> Flowers as Indicators of Environmental Stress |
| title_sort | radial and bilateral fluctuating asymmetry of i iris pumila i flowers as indicators of environmental stress |
| topic | developmental instability bilateral and radial fluctuating asymmetry linear and geometric morphometrics <i>Iris pumila</i> biomonitoring |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/11/6/818 |
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