During this Rose Cafe, we met with Professor Ande Kessler to learn about plant communication. After a long and unrelated tangent about indigenous tribes in Colombia, we began to learn about the methods by which plants release chemicals, and how this can alter the behavior of other organisms in the area. For example, we learned that some plants will release chemicals when they are being eaten by insects, which can attract more predatory insects to eat the herbivores. Mechanisms such as this are fascinating because they illustrate the interconnectedness of nature. Even seemingly unrelated phenomena can play off of one another to create magnificent reactions. If humanity wishes to get the fullest benefit from nature, to work with it rather than destroy it, then we must have a greater understanding of the ways in which this communication works.
Rose Scholars Spring 2020
Endless possibilities
Wow that’s super cool! I wonder what the range of these signalling chemicals are, and if there are any practical applications of these signals that we can take advantage of?
The idea that the plants could be communicating with the world around them seems extraordinary. I never even thought about that being possible. It sounds like the movie Avatar where all living things were interconnected and could communicate together. If we were able to decipher the plant “language,” human beings could use that knowledge to make the world a much better place.
I completely agree! We MUST look for ways to work with the environment rather than to continue destroying it and this method I believe is a phenomenal way to get started in bettering the world. Using plant communication can help other aspects of nature as we are understanding it has for many years now. If we continue to investigate this and use science to further help our relationship with the environment then I do believe we can hope to better our future.
Different components of nature speak different languages. Some languages are audible, such as the chirping of birds and the roaring of lions, while other languages are hidden to humans, like communication through releasing/detecting chemicals as you discussed. The implicit languages might actually be more powerful in the ecosystem as they allow different species to communicate with each other in a way that benefits the whole ecosystem and maintains the cycle of life. Understanding those languages might require humans to take a creative approach, but it will definitely bring us some extremely valuable new perspectives on nature.