Aly Baumgartner GeoCorps Intern Herb Meyer Paleontologist Florissant Fossil Beds NM 3407 010 Ma Late Eocene Lake Florissant Plant fossils 140150 plant species 7 extinct genera all families extant ID: 932520
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Slide1
Coexistence climate analysis of the late Eocene Florissant flora, Colorado
Aly
Baumgartner
GeoCorps
Intern
Herb Meyer
Paleontologist Florissant Fossil Beds NM
Slide234.07 ± 0.10 MaLate EoceneLake Florissant Plant fossils~140-150 plant species7 extinct genera, all families extantMixed broadleaved deciduous/broadleaved evergreen/ coniferous forestInsect, vertebrate fossils
Florissant Fossil Beds
Slide3Nearest living relative (NLR) Leaf physiognomy/CLAMP Weighted-averaging partial least-squares regressions (WAPLS)Family and genus levelsMAT range: 10°C -18°C
Previous Paleoclimate Work(Gregory, 1994a;
MacGinitie, 1953, Boyle et al., 2008)
Slide4(Zachos et al., 2008)
Florissant Formation
Slide5Uses nearest living relative’s recent distribution and climatic requirements(
Mosbrugger and Utescher, 1997; palaeoflora.de)Coexistence Approach
Slide6Which taxa?Only included previously described taxa identifiable as extant generaEocene requires generic level (too old for species)Outlier taxa for any parameter completely removed from analysisWhich parameters?
Mean annual temperature (MAT) for comparison to previous studiesCoexistence Approach
Slide7Which databases?Initially, Palaeoflora DatabaseSubsequently, obtained climate data from alternate sources
Relations Between Climatic Parameters and Distributions of Trees and Shrubs, North America. (Thompson et al., 2000)Atlas of Woody Plants in China: Distribution and Climate Volume I (Fang et al., 2011
)Coexistence Approach
Slide8ProsCan be used on any plant organSome misidentifications may be eliminated as outliers
ConsPossible misidentification of fossilsPossible incorrect NLRExtinct genera
Climatic tolerances changed due to evolutionEspecially older fossils
Coexistence Approach
Slide9The Fossils of Florissant by Herbert W. Meyer (Appendix)Florissant Fossil DatabaseSummary of current valid taxaMacrofossils and pollenIncludes dubious identifications
Fossils from all stratigraphic units, undifferentiatedSources
(Meyer, 2003; http://planning.nps.gov/flfo/)
Slide10SourcesEvolutionary trends and ecological differentiation in early Cenozoic Fagaceae of western North AmericaJohannes
Bouchal, Reinhard Zetter, Fridgeir Grimsson, and Thomas Denk
, 2014Pollen sample from single stratigraphic unit
(
Bouchal
et al., 2014)
Slide11SourcesHigher taxa as paleoecological and paleoclimatic indicators: A search for the modern analog of the Florissant fossil
floraBrad Boyle, Herb Meyer, Brian Enquist, Silvia Salas, 2008Taxa evaluated by Estella Leopold, Steven Manchester and Herb MeyerList of “confidently recorded” plant taxaPollen and macrofossils
Represent all stratigraphic units, undifferentiated(Boyle et al., 2008)
Slide12Fossils of Florissant: Macrofossil/Pollen
Slide13Fossils of Florissant: Macrofossil Taxa
Slide14Fossils of Florissant: Macrofossil No Outliers
14.4-17.6
°C
Slide15Fossils of Florissant: Pollen
15.7-19.4
°C
Slide16Bouchal
et al.: Pollen
17-19.4
°C
Slide17Boyle et al.: Macrofossil and Pollen
Slide18Boyle et al.: Macrofossil Taxa
10.6-17.5
°
C
Slide19Boyle et al.: Pollen Taxa
15.7-19.4°C
Slide20Boyle et al.: Macrofossil Supplemental
*Atlas of Woody Plants in China **Relations Between Climatic Parameters and Distributions of Trees and Shrubs, North America
10-13.2
°
C
Slide21High-elevation paleo pollen assemblages problematicLikely to have warm, low elevation pollen influxLess likely to have cool, high elevation pollen influxTaxa such as Ephedra can disperse >1,000 km
Pollen reconstructions tend to be warmer and wetter than those with macrofossilsMacrofossil reconstructions preferredPollen Problems
(Maher, 1964; Ortu et al., 2006)
Slide22Comparisons to previous studies
Macrofossils
Pollen
Slide23Comparisons to previous studies
WAPLS
CLAMP/Leaf physiognomy
NLR
Slide24Precision and accuracy of climate data matter!Demonstrated assumed precision 0.1° C inaccuratePalaeoflora Database precision stated ≤ 5°C
Important lower limitsAll roads lead to Carolina560/700 taxa at 16° CRelict taxaSequoia,
Eucommia?Genus v. species
Coexistence Approach Critique
(Grimm and
Denk
, 2012)
Slide25Why use multiple sources?To combat bias from single sourcesTo include more taxa, narrower climate resolutionWhat about outliers/taxa not included in analysis?Focused on MAT, fewer outliersConfidently identified had fewer outliers
Many excluded taxa relictual Larger range in Eocene
Questions and Concerns
Slide26Pollen and macrofossil analyses differPollen analyses give warmer resultsAt high elevation, macrofossil analyses probably more accurateMAT: 10-13.2°COverlaps with previous macrofossil analyses
Cooler than analyses including pollenConclusions
Slide27David Greenwood for modern climate data and additional resourcesGeoCorps America for research opportunity
The National Park Service and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument for resourcesExperiment and all my supporters for getting me to GSA
Acknowledgements