Thanks to the ASCEND project for partnering with us on this video!

Plants can tell when competitors are nearby because they can see them.

LEARN MORE

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

• Shade avoidance: changes in plant body form and function that occur in response to the light signals provided by neighboring vegetation
• Photoreceptors: light-sensitive proteins involved in the sensing and response to light in a variety of organisms
• Far-red light: light at the extreme red end of the visible spectrum, just before infrared light (wavelength of ~700 to 750 nm)

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CREDITS

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Kate Yoshida | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES

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Ballaré CL, and Pierik R. (2017) The shade-avoidance syndrome: multiple signals and ecological consequences. Plant, Cell & Environment, 40: 2530–2543. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12914

Casal JJ. (2013) Photoreceptor signaling networks in plant responses to shade. Annu Rev Plant Biol. 64:403-27. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-050312-120221

Kothari S, Montgomery RA, Cavender-Bares J. (2021) Physiological responses to light explain competition and facilitation in a tree diversity experiment. Journal of Ecology 109: 2000–2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13637

Palayam M, Ganapathy J, Guercio AM et al. (2021) Structural insights into photoactivation of plant Cryptochrome-2. Commun Biol 4, 28. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01531-x

Roig-Villanova I, Paulišić S, Martinez-Garcia JF. (2019) Shade Avoidance and Neighbor Detection. In: Hiltbrunner, A. (eds) Phytochromes. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2026. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9612-4_13

Smith, H. (2000) Phytochromes and light signal perception by plants—an emerging synthesis. Nature 407, 585–591. https://doi.org/10.1038/35036500