We kindly invite to attend two lectures by a well-known ecologist Velemir Ninkovic from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The lectures will take place 2nd of November, 10-12 AM at Room R105.
Associated professor Velemir Ninkovic will present plant-plant communication and behaviour of Sevenspotted ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata). It has a pronounced seasonal migration rhythm, and is a very mobile species in the landscape. The general principle for the foraging behaviour of C. septempunctata is described as a ‘journey through the landscape’. To be successful, the ladybird food searching strategy presupposes a high capacity to meet variation in food, plus a capacity for learning.
Plants use their roots to “listen in” on their neighbours, according to research that adds to evidence that plants have their own unique forms of communication. Reaserchers, including Asoc. Prof. Velemir Ninkovic, found that plants in a crowded environment secrete chemicals into the soil that prompt their neighbours to grow more aggressively, presumably to avoid being left in the shade. The latest study reveals that this behaviour is driven, not just by mechanical cues picked up by leaves, but by chemical secretions in the soil.
"If we have a problem with our neighbours, we can move flat. Plants can’t do that. They’ve accepted that and they use signals to avoid competing situations and to prepare for future competition," says Asoc. Prof. Velemir Ninkovic.