Pandora's profile photo
Pandora
Nov 17, 2021, 11:16:33 AM (3 days ago)
to
The Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution and the origins of modern
biodiversity.
Summary
Biodiversity today has the unusual property that 85% of plant and
animal species live on land rather than in the sea, and half of these
live in tropical rainforests. An explosive boost to terrestrial
diversity occurred from c. 100–50 million years ago, the Late
Cretaceous and early Palaeogene. During this interval, the Earth-life
system on land was reset, and the biosphere expanded to a new level of productivity, enhancing the capacity and species diversity of
terrestrial environments. This boost in terrestrial biodiversity
coincided with innovations in flowering plant biology and evolutionary
ecology, including their flowers and efficiencies in reproduction;
coevolution with animals, especially pollinators and herbivores;
photosynthetic capacities; adaptability; and ability to modify
habitats. The rise of angiosperms triggered a macroecological
revolution on land and drove modern biodiversity in a secular,
prolonged shift to new, high levels, a series of processes we name
here the Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution.
Open access:
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.17822
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)