The Extinction of Megaherbivores , Affected the Evolution of Plants, , New Study Shows.
'Newsweek' reports that the extinction of the dinosaurs may have had a profound impact on the evolution of plant life on Earth.
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According to researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), , about 25 million years after the dinosaurs were wiped out, the size of fruit had increased while plants' defensive features regressed.
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According to researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), , about 25 million years after the dinosaurs were wiped out, the size of fruit had increased while plants' defensive features regressed.
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The iDiv team analyzed fossils and living palms today to trace the evolutionary developments of plants during and after the absence of megaherbivores.
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The iDiv team analyzed fossils and living palms today to trace the evolutionary developments of plants during and after the absence of megaherbivores.
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The team confirmed that many palm species of that time bore large fruits and were covered with spines and thorns on their trunks and leaves.
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We were thus able to refute the previous scientific assumption that the presence of large palm fruits depended exclusively on megaherbivores, Dr. Renske Onstein, Head of the Evolution & Adaptation Group at iDiv and Leipzig University, via 'Newsweek'.
We, therefore, assume that the lack of influence of large herbivores led to denser vegetations in which plants with larger seeds and fruits had an evolutionary advantage, Dr. Renske Onstein, Head of the Evolution & Adaptation Group at iDiv and Leipzig University, via 'Newsweek'.
However, during the megaherbivore gap, the number of palm species with defensive traits decreased.
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Defense traits without predators apparently no longer offered evolutionary advantages.
However, they returned in most palm species when new megaherbivores evolved, in contrast to the changes in fruits, which persisted, Dr. Renske Onstein, Head of the Evolution & Adaptation Group at iDiv and Leipzig University, via 'Newsweek'.
'Newsweek' reports that understanding how extinction affected plant evolution could help in predicting future ecological adaptations.
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The current extinction of species due to hunting and climate change may lead to trait variations in plant communities and ecosystems in the near future.
