Photosynthetica 2010, 48(1):103-109 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-010-0014-7

Photosynthetic light response in three carnivorous plant species: Drosera rotundifolia, D. capensis and Sarracenia leucophylla

B. M. Bruzzese1, R. Bowler1, H. B. Massicotte1, A. L. Fredeen1,*
1 Ecosystem Science & Management Program, College of Science & Management, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, Canada

Photosynthetic properties of carnivorous plants have not been well characterized and the extent to which photosynthesis contributes to carbon gain in most carnivorous plants is also largely unknown. We investigated the photosynthetic light response in three carnivorous plant species, Drosera rotundifolia L. (sundew; circumpolar and native to northern British Columbia, Canada), Sarracenia leucophylla Rafin. ('pitcher-plant'; S.E. United States), and D. capensis L. (sundew; Cape Peninsula, South Africa), using portable gas-exchange systems to explore the capacity for photosynthetic carbon gain in carnivorous plant species. Maximal photosynthetic rates (1.32-2.22 μmol m-2 s-1 on a leaf area basis) and saturating light intensities (100 to 200 μmol PAR m-2 s-1) were both low in all species and comparable to shade plants. Field or greenhouse-grown D. rotundifolia had the highest rates of photosynthesis among the three species examined. Dark respiration, ranging from -1.44 (S. leucophylla) to -3.32 (D. rotundifolia) μmol m-2 s-1 was high in comparison to photosynthesis in the species examined. Across greenhouse-grown plants, photosynthetic light compensation points scaled with light-saturated photosynthetic rates. An analysis of gas-exchange and growth data for greenhouse-grown D. capensis plants suggests that photosynthesis can account for all plant carbon gain in this species.

Additional key words: carnivorous plants; Drosera; photosynthesis; respiration; Sarracenia; sundews

Received: August 28, 2009; Accepted: February 2, 2010; Published: March 1, 2010  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Bruzzese, B.M., Bowler, R., Massicotte, H.B., & Fredeen, A.L. (2010). Photosynthetic light response in three carnivorous plant species: Drosera rotundifolia, D. capensis and Sarracenia leucophylla. Photosynthetica48(1), 103-109. doi: 10.1007/s11099-010-0014-7
Download citation

References

  1. Adamec, L.: Ecophysiological study of the aquatic carnivorous plant Aldrovanda vesiculosa L. - Acta Bot. Gall. 142: 681-684, 1995. Go to original source...
  2. Adamec, L.: Mineral nutrition of carnivorous plants: A review. - Bot. Rev. 63: 273-299, 1997. Go to original source...
  3. Adamec, L.: Dark respiration of leaves and traps of terrestrial carnivorous plants: are there greater energetic costs in traps? - Cent. Eur. J. Biol. 5: 121-124, 2010. Go to original source...
  4. Adamec, L.: Respiration and photosynthesis of bladders and leaves of aquatic Utricularia species. - Plant Biol. 8: 765-769, 2006. Go to original source...
  5. Asada, T., Warner, B.G., Aravena, R.: Nitrogen isotope signature variability in plant species from open peatland. - Aquatic Bot. 82: 297-307, 2005. Go to original source...
  6. Bazzaz, F.A., Carlson, R.W.: Photosynthetic acclimation to variability in the light environment of early and late successional plants. - Oecologia 54: 313-316, 1982. Go to original source...
  7. Chapin, C.T., Pastor, J.: Nutrient limitation in the northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. - Can. J. Bot. 73: 728-734, 1995. Go to original source...
  8. Chandler, G.E., Anderson, J.W.: Studies on the nutrition and growth of Drosera species with reference to the carnivorous habit. - New Phytol. 76: 129-141, 1976. Go to original source...
  9. Darwin, C.R.: Insectivorous Plants. - Kessinger Publish., Whitefish 1875. Go to original source...
  10. Ellison, A.M.: Nutrient limitation and stoichiometry of carnivorous plants. - Plant Biol. 8: 740-747, 2006. Go to original source...
  11. Ellison, A.M., Gotelli, N.: Nitrogen availability alters the expression of carnivory in the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. - Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 99: 4409-4412, 2002. Go to original source...
  12. Farnsworth, E.J., Ellison, A.M.: Prey availability directly affects physiology, growth, nutrient allocation and scaling relationships among leaf traits in 10 carnivorous plant species. - J. Ecol. 96: 213-221, 2008. Go to original source...
  13. Givnish, T.J.: Ecology and evolution of carnivorous plants. - In: Abrahamson, W.G. (ed.): Plant-Animal Interactions. Pp. 243-290. McGraw-Hill, New York 1989.
  14. Givnish, T.J., Burkhardt, E.L., Happel, R.E., Weintraub, J.D.: Carnivory in the bromeliad Brocchinia reducta, with a cost/benefit model for the general restriction of carnivorous plants to sunny, moist, nutrient-poor habitats. - Amer. Nat. 124:479-497, 1984. Go to original source...
  15. Juniper, B.E., Robins, R.J. Joel, D.M.: The Carnivorous Plants. - Academic Press, London 1989.
  16. Karagatzides, J.D., Ellison, A.M.: Construction costs, payback times, and the leaf economics of carnivorous plants. - Amer. J. Bot. 96: 1612-1619, 2009. Go to original source...
  17. Knight, S.E.: Costs of carnivory in the common bladderwort, Utricularia macrorhiza. - Oecologia 89: 348-355, 1992. Go to original source...
  18. Lambers, H., Stuart Chapin, F., III, Pons, T.L.: Plant Physiological Ecology. - Springer-Verlag, New York - Berlin - Heidelberg 1998. Go to original source...
  19. Méndez, M., Karlsson, P.S.: Costs and benefits of carnivory in plants: insights from the photosynthetic performance of four carnivorous plants in a subarctic environment. - Oikos 86:105-112, 1999. Go to original source...
  20. Millett, J., Jones, R.I., Waldron, S.: The contribution of insect prey to the total nitrogen content of sundews (Drosera spp.) determined in situ by stable isotope analysis. - New Phytol. 158: 527-534, 2003. Go to original source...
  21. Pavlovič, A., Masarovičová, E., Hudák, J.: Carnivorous syndrome in Asian pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes. - Ann. Bot. 100: 527-536, 2007. Go to original source...
  22. Pavlovič, A., Singerová, L., Demko, V., Hudák, J.: Feeding enhances photosynthetic efficiency in the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes talangensis. - Ann. Bot. 104: 307-314, 2009. Go to original source...
  23. Prioul, J.L., Chartier, P.: Partitioning of transfer and carboxylation components of intracellular resistance to photosynthetic CO2 fixation: A critical analysis of the methods used. - Ann. Bot. 41: 789-800, 1977. Go to original source...
  24. Shipley, B.: Net assimilation rate, specific leaf area and leaf mass ratio: which is most closely correlated with relative growth rate? A meta-analysis. - Funct. Ecol. 20: 565-574, 2006. Go to original source...
  25. Slack, A.: Carnivorous Plants. MIT Press, Cambridge 2000.
  26. Small, E.: Photosynthetic rates in relation to nitrogen recycling as an adaptation to nutrient deficiency in peat bog plants. - Can. J. Bot. 50: 2227-2233, 1972. Go to original source...
  27. Stewart, C.N., Nilsen, E.T.: Drosera rotundifolia growth and nutrition in a natural population with special reference to the significance of insectivory. - Can. J. Bot. 70: 1409-1416, 1992. Go to original source...
  28. Thoren, L.M., Karlsson, P.S.: Effects of supplementary feeding on growth and reproduction of three carnivorous plant species in the subarctic environment. - J. Ecol. 86: 501-510, 1998. Go to original source...
  29. Thorén, L.M., Tuomi, J., Kämäräinen, T., Laine, K: Resource availability affects investment in carnivory in Drosera rotundifolia. - New Phytol. 159: 507-511, 2003. Go to original source...
  30. Wakefield, A.E., Gotelli, N.J., Wittman, S.E., and Ellison, A.M.: Prey addition alters nutrient stoichiometry of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea. - Ecology 86: 1737-1743, 2005. Go to original source...