Skip Navigation



AOBPreview published online on June 21, 2006
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mcl125
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
98/3/495    most recent
mcl125v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by COIFFARD, C.
Right arrow Articles by THEVENARD, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by COIFFARD, C.
Right arrow Articles by THEVENARD, F.
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by COIFFARD, C.
Right arrow Articles by THEVENARD, F.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received February 7, 2006
Revised March 3, 2006
Accepted April 28, 2006

Article

Early Angiosperm Ecology: Evidence from the Albian-Cenomanian of Europe

C. COIFFARD 1, B. GOMEZ 2 *, J. KVACEK 3, and F. THEVENARD 1

1 UCB Lyon 1 et UMR 5125, Paléobotanique, 7 rue Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
2 UMR 6118 du CNRS Géosciences, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, avenue du Général Leclerc, F-35042 Rennes, France; UCB Lyon 1 et UMR 5125, Paléobotanique, 7 rue Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
3 National Museum, Prague, Václavské nám. 68, 115 79, Praha 1, Czech Republic

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
B. GOMEZ, E-mail: bernard.gomez{at}univ-rennes1.fr


  Abstract

• Background and Aims The mid-Cretaceous is a period of sudden turnover from gymnosperm to angiosperm-dominated floras. The aim was to investigate the fossil plant ecology in order to follow the spread of angiosperm taxa.

• Methods Floristic lists and localities from the latest Albian-Cenomanian of Europe are analysed with Wagner's Parsimony Method, a clustering method currently used in phylogeny (cladistics).

• Key Results Wagner's Parsimony Method points out that (a) gymnosperms dominated brackish water-related environments while angiosperms dominated freshwater-related environments (e.g. swamps, floodplains, levees, channels), (b) angiosperms showed the highest diversity in stable, freshwater-related environments, (c) a single angiosperm, ‘Diospyros’ cretacea, is restricted to brackish water-related environments and (d) the families Lauraceae and Platanaceae were exclusive to disturbed, braided river environments, implying a opportunist strategy for early tree angiosperms.

• Conclusions During the Mid-Cretaceous, European floras were characterized by (a) coastal gymnosperms, (b) highly diversified fluvial angiosperms and (c) the first European brackish water-related angiosperm.

Keywords: Wagner's Parsimony Method, angiosperms, gymnosperms, conifers, ecology, environment, Mid-Cretaceous, Europe.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PALAIOSHome page
V. PERRICHOT and V. GIRARD
A UNIQUE PIECE OF AMBER AND THE COMPLEXITY OF ANCIENT FOREST ECOSYSTEMS
Palaios, March 1, 2009; 24(3): 137 - 139.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
M. Philippe, V. Daviero-Gomez, and V. Suteethorn
Silhouette and palaeoecology of Mesozoic trees in Thailand
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, January 1, 2009; 315(1): 85 - 96.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.