Abstract Detail

Paleobotany

Koll, Rebecca [1], DiMichele, William [2].

Vegetative-diversity and patterns of arthropod herbivory in one of the most botanically rich localities in western equatorial Pangea.

The Wolfcampian (Artinskian) age Emily Irish locality, of north-central Texas, is believed to be the most thoroughly collected flora of this age from any place in the world, including ca. 6000 hand specimens housed at the US National Museum of Natural History. As part of a larger synthesis of Permian environments in western equatorial Pangea, we are investigating the record of plant-insect association, specifically examining the response of Permian food webs to climatic fluctuations during the waning phases of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Integration of paleobotanical, sedimentological, and entomological reconstructions allows for broad-scale interpretations concerning assemblage diversity and patterns of plant radiation during this time of major environmental change. In an effort to better understand community structure of the region this study focuses on a quantitative census of vegetative dominance and diversity as well as an investigation of the degree and type of insect herbivory present; comparing and contrasting these results with existing literature investigating assemblage diversity and resource partitioning of other known vegetative communities from equatorial Pangea and Cathaysia. Results from the Emily Irish investigation address the following questions: How does the intensity of Pangean insect damage shift in response to time, environmental conditions, and habitat? 2) Do the damage types and their intensity indicate a changing spectrum of plant hosts or preferential feeding through time? 3) How does tropical vegetative community structure across Pangea respond to changes in environmental conditions? 4) How do long-term shifts in climate influence plant morphology such as leaf architecture and reproductive strategies? 5) What are the species richness and evenness patterns of Emily Irish how do they compare with other Permian sites?

1 - University Of Florida And National Museum Of Natural History, Botany, 109 SE 16th Ave, Q302, Gainesville, FL, 32601, USA
2 - Smithsonian Institution, DEPT OF PALEOBIOLOGY, NHB MRC 121, WASHINGTON, DC, 20560-0001, USA

Keywords:
Permian
Pangea.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 12, Cookson/Moseley award presentations
Location: Sundance 4/Omni Hotel
Date: Monday, June 26th, 2017
Time: 2:15 PM
Number: 12004
Abstract ID:359
Candidate for Awards:Isabel Cookson Award,Maynard F. Moseley Award