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Fossil evidence for low gas exchange capacities for Early Cretaceous angiosperm leaves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Taylor S. Feild ,
Garland R. Upchurch Jr. ,
David S. Chatelet ,
Timothy J. Brodribb ,
Kunsiri C. Grubbs ,
Marie-Stéphanie Samain  and
Stefan Wanke
Taylor S. Feild*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Garland R. Upchurch Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
David S. Chatelet
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Timothy J. Brodribb
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
Kunsiri C. Grubbs
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina
Marie-Stéphanie Samain
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Department of Biology, Research Group Spermatophytes, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Stefan Wanke
Affiliation:
Technische Universität Dresden, Institut fur Botanik, 01062 Dresden, Germany
*
∗Corresponding author
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Abstract

The photosynthetic gas exchange capacities of early angiosperms remain enigmatic. Nevertheless, many hypotheses about the causes of early angiosperm success and how angiosperms influenced Mesozoic ecosystem function hinge on understanding the maximum capacity for early angiosperm metabolism. We applied structure-functional analyses of leaf veins and stomatal pore geometry to determine the hydraulic and diffusive gas exchange capacities of Early Cretaceous fossil leaves. All of the late Aptian—early Albian angiosperms measured possessed low vein density and low maximal stomatal pore area, indicating low leaf gas exchange capacities in comparison to modern ecologically dominant angiosperms. Gas exchange capacities for Early Cretaceous angiosperms were equivalent or lower than ferns and gymnosperms. Fossil leaf taxa from Aptian to Paleocene sediments previously identified as putative stem-lineages to Austrobaileyales and Chloranthales had the same gas exchange capacities and possibly leaf water relations of their living relatives. Our results provide fossil evidence for the hypothesis that high leaf gas exchange capacity is a derived feature of later angiosperm evolution. In addition, the leaf gas exchange functions of austrobaileyoid and chloranthoid fossils support the hypothesis that comparative research on the biology of living basal angiosperm lineages reveals genuine signals of Early Cretaceous angiosperm ecophysiology.

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Articles
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Paleobiology , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , Spring 2011 , pp. 195 - 213
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Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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