Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The diverse early Eocene flora from Laguna del Hunco (LH) in Patagonia, Argentina has many nearest living relatives (NLRs) in Australasia but few in South America, indicating the differential survival of an ancient, trans-Antarctic rainforest biome. To better understand this si...
Published in: | American Journal of Botany |
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2015
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Online Access: | https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/8311178c-9fc9-485e-a2e4-3c03164d33f6 https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84939176738&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftmacquarieunicr:oai:https://researchers.mq.edu.au:publications/8311178c-9fc9-485e-a2e4-3c03164d33f6 2024-10-13T14:03:04+00:00 Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics Merkhofer, Lisa Wilf, Peter Haas, M. Tyler Kooyman, Robert M. Sack, Lawren Scoffoni, Christine Cúneo, N. Rubén 2015-07-01 https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/8311178c-9fc9-485e-a2e4-3c03164d33f6 https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84939176738&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Merkhofer , L , Wilf , P , Haas , M T , Kooyman , R M , Sack , L , Scoffoni , C & Cúneo , N R 2015 , ' Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics ' , American Journal of Botany , vol. 102 , no. 7 , pp. 1160-1173 . https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 biogeography Gondwana leaf size rainforests paleobotany paleoclimate paleoecology vein scaling article 2015 ftmacquarieunicr https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 2024-09-26T15:15:55Z PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The diverse early Eocene flora from Laguna del Hunco (LH) in Patagonia, Argentina has many nearest living relatives (NLRs) in Australasia but few in South America, indicating the differential survival of an ancient, trans-Antarctic rainforest biome. To better understand this significant biogeographic pattern, we used detailed comparisons of leaf size and floristics to quantify the legacy of LH across a large network of Australian rainforest-plot assemblages. METHODS: We applied vein scaling, a new method for estimating the original areas of fragmented leaves. We then compared leaf size and floristics at LH with living Australian assemblages and tabulated the climates of those where NLRs occur, along with additional data on climatic ranges of “ex-Australian” NLRs that survive outside of Australia. KEY RESULTS: Vein scaling estimated areas as accurately as leaf-size classes. Applying vein scaling to fossil fragments increased the grand mean area of LH by 450 mm 2, recovering more originally large leaves. The paleoflora has a majority of microphyll leaves, comparable to leaf litter in subtropical Australian forests, which also have the greatest floristic similarity to LH. Tropical Australian assemblages also share many taxa with LH, and ex-Australian NLRs mostly inhabit cool, wet montane habitats no longer present in Australia. CONCLUSIONS: Vein scaling is valuable for improving the resolution of fossil leaf-size distributions by including fragmented specimens. The legacy of LH is evident not only in subtropical and tropical Australia but also in tropical montane Australasia and Southeast Asia, reflecting the disparate histories of surviving Gondwanan lineages. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Macquarie University Research Portal Antarctic Argentina Patagonia American Journal of Botany 102 7 1160 1173 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Macquarie University Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftmacquarieunicr |
language |
English |
topic |
biogeography Gondwana leaf size rainforests paleobotany paleoclimate paleoecology vein scaling |
spellingShingle |
biogeography Gondwana leaf size rainforests paleobotany paleoclimate paleoecology vein scaling Merkhofer, Lisa Wilf, Peter Haas, M. Tyler Kooyman, Robert M. Sack, Lawren Scoffoni, Christine Cúneo, N. Rubén Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
topic_facet |
biogeography Gondwana leaf size rainforests paleobotany paleoclimate paleoecology vein scaling |
description |
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The diverse early Eocene flora from Laguna del Hunco (LH) in Patagonia, Argentina has many nearest living relatives (NLRs) in Australasia but few in South America, indicating the differential survival of an ancient, trans-Antarctic rainforest biome. To better understand this significant biogeographic pattern, we used detailed comparisons of leaf size and floristics to quantify the legacy of LH across a large network of Australian rainforest-plot assemblages. METHODS: We applied vein scaling, a new method for estimating the original areas of fragmented leaves. We then compared leaf size and floristics at LH with living Australian assemblages and tabulated the climates of those where NLRs occur, along with additional data on climatic ranges of “ex-Australian” NLRs that survive outside of Australia. KEY RESULTS: Vein scaling estimated areas as accurately as leaf-size classes. Applying vein scaling to fossil fragments increased the grand mean area of LH by 450 mm 2, recovering more originally large leaves. The paleoflora has a majority of microphyll leaves, comparable to leaf litter in subtropical Australian forests, which also have the greatest floristic similarity to LH. Tropical Australian assemblages also share many taxa with LH, and ex-Australian NLRs mostly inhabit cool, wet montane habitats no longer present in Australia. CONCLUSIONS: Vein scaling is valuable for improving the resolution of fossil leaf-size distributions by including fragmented specimens. The legacy of LH is evident not only in subtropical and tropical Australia but also in tropical montane Australasia and Southeast Asia, reflecting the disparate histories of surviving Gondwanan lineages. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Merkhofer, Lisa Wilf, Peter Haas, M. Tyler Kooyman, Robert M. Sack, Lawren Scoffoni, Christine Cúneo, N. Rubén |
author_facet |
Merkhofer, Lisa Wilf, Peter Haas, M. Tyler Kooyman, Robert M. Sack, Lawren Scoffoni, Christine Cúneo, N. Rubén |
author_sort |
Merkhofer, Lisa |
title |
Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
title_short |
Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
title_full |
Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
title_fullStr |
Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
title_sort |
resolving australian analogs for an eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/8311178c-9fc9-485e-a2e4-3c03164d33f6 https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84939176738&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Antarctic Argentina Patagonia |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Argentina Patagonia |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
Merkhofer , L , Wilf , P , Haas , M T , Kooyman , R M , Sack , L , Scoffoni , C & Cúneo , N R 2015 , ' Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics ' , American Journal of Botany , vol. 102 , no. 7 , pp. 1160-1173 . https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1500159 |
container_title |
American Journal of Botany |
container_volume |
102 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1160 |
op_container_end_page |
1173 |
_version_ |
1812819502029602816 |