Prep notes for Nov. 9, 2004: leaves

Concepts: Alternation of generations, gamete, spore, haploid, diploid, gametophyte, sporophyte, flower, seed, pollen, egg, pollination, pollinator.

Questions:

• What's the difference between a gamete and a spore?
• What's the life cycle in bryophytes? In ferns? In gymnosperms? In angiosperms?
• Is there an evolutionary significance to alternation of generations?
• What is the gametophyte in the gymnosperm and angiosperm (= tracheophyte) life cycles?
• Why is the gametophyte the large, conspicuous phase in bryphytes but the invisible phase in tracheophytes?
• What are some advantages that might be conferred by seeds? By pollen?
• When might animal pollination be preferable to wind pollination?
• What are some examples of plant-pollinator coevolution?