pH-Antastic Pitchers: pH Patterns in Carnivorous Plants
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Leonora Bittleston, Boise State University
Presentation Date
7-2023
Abstract
It’s well known that living things, like plants and animals, are influenced by their habitats, and that the habitats are shaped by a wide variety of environmental factors. One of these factors is pH, which we know affects the growth and development of plants, as well as the composition of the microbial communities that live alongside and within them. Our experiment focused on pitcher plants. We wanted to know whether they were capable of changing the pH of the liquid inside their leaves, and whether the liquid’s initial pH influenced how it changed over time. To answer our questions, we measured the pH level of the liquid inside a group of pitcher plants (with varying leaf sizes), a group of pitcher-shaped glass tubes and then recorded its change over time. We found that pitcher plants buffer the pH in their liquid, showing significantly increased pH values compared to tubes. We also observed that pitchers have increased pH regardless of starting pH. This experiment illustrates that pitcher plants can exert control over environmental factors, like pH, which may have important effects on pitcher health and microbial community dynamics.
pH-Antastic Pitchers: pH Patterns in Carnivorous Plants
It’s well known that living things, like plants and animals, are influenced by their habitats, and that the habitats are shaped by a wide variety of environmental factors. One of these factors is pH, which we know affects the growth and development of plants, as well as the composition of the microbial communities that live alongside and within them. Our experiment focused on pitcher plants. We wanted to know whether they were capable of changing the pH of the liquid inside their leaves, and whether the liquid’s initial pH influenced how it changed over time. To answer our questions, we measured the pH level of the liquid inside a group of pitcher plants (with varying leaf sizes), a group of pitcher-shaped glass tubes and then recorded its change over time. We found that pitcher plants buffer the pH in their liquid, showing significantly increased pH values compared to tubes. We also observed that pitchers have increased pH regardless of starting pH. This experiment illustrates that pitcher plants can exert control over environmental factors, like pH, which may have important effects on pitcher health and microbial community dynamics.