Climate and geological change as drivers of Mauritiinae palm biogeography

ABSTRACT Aim Forest composition and distribution are determined by a myriad of factors, including climate. As models of tropical rain forest, palms are often used as indicator taxa, particularly the Mauritiinae. We question, what characterizes the Mauritiinae pollen in the global fossil record? And...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of biogeography Vol. 48; no. 5; pp. 1001 - 1022
Main Authors:	Bogotá‐Ángel, Giovanni, Huang, Huasheng, Jardine, Phillip E., Chazot, Nicolas, Salamanca, Sonia, Banks, Hannah, Pardo‐Trujillo, Andres, Plata, Angelo, Dueñas, Hernando, Star, Wim, Langelaan, Rob, Eisawi, Ali, Umeji, Obianuju P., Enuenwemba, Lucky O., Parmar, Shalini, Silveira, Rosemery Rocha, Lim, Jun Ying, Prasad, Vandana, Morley, Robert J., Bacon, Christine D., Hoorn, Carina
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-05-2021
Subjects:	Arecaceae Biogeography Climate change Climate models Cretaceous Divergence Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Endangered & extinct species Environmental Sciences & Ecology Eocene Eocene&#8211 Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT) Extinct species Extinction Fossil pollen fossil record Fysisk geografi Geographical distribution Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap global cooling interplate dispersal Lepidocaryum Mauritia Mauritiella Mauritiinae Morphometry Neogene Neotropics Oligocene Oligocene Transition (EOT) Paleocene palynology Physical Geography Plant fossils Pollen Rainforests Taxa Transmission electron microscopy Tropical environments Tropical forests South America Africa India
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	ABSTRACT Aim Forest composition and distribution are determined by a myriad of factors, including climate. As models of tropical rain forest, palms are often used as indicator taxa, particularly the Mauritiinae. We question, what characterizes the Mauritiinae pollen in the global fossil record? And when did the Mauritiinae become endemic to South America? Location Global tropics. Taxon Mauritiinae palms (Arecaceae: Lepidocaryeae). Methods Pollen trait data from extinct and extant Mauritiinae pollen were generated from light‐, scanning‐, and transmission electron microscopy. Statistical morphometric analysis was used to define species and their relationships to other Mauritiinae. We also compiled a comprehensive pollen database for extinct and extant Mauritiinae and mapped their global geographical distribution from Late Cretaceous to present, using GBIF and fossil data. Results Our morphometric analysis identified 18 species (11 extinct and seven extant), all exhibiting exine indentations, a synapomorphy of the subtribe. The fossil taxa and early divergent extant Lepidocaryum are all monosulcate, whereas the extant Mauritia and Mauritiella species are all monoulcerate. Paleobiogeographical maps of fossil Mauritiinae pollen occurrences suggest the taxon originated in equatorial Africa during the Cretaceous, and expanded their range to South America, and to India in the Paleocene. Range retraction started in the early Eocene with extirpation from India, and reduction in diversity in Africa culminating at the Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT). In contrast, in South America, the distribution is maintained, and since the Neogene Mauritiinae palms are mostly restricted to swampy, lowland habitats. Main conclusions Morphometric analysis shows that since their origin Mauritiinae pollen are relatively species poor, and Mauritiidites resembles Lepidocaryum. We also conclude that the biogeographical history of the Mauriitinae and, by extension, tropical forests was strongly affected by global climatic cooling events. In particular, the climate change at the EOT was a fundamental determinant of current tropical forest distribution.
Bibliography:	Handling Editor: Mark Bush Giovanni Bogotá‐Ángel and Huasheng Huang contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:	0305-0270 1365-2699 1365-2699
DOI:	10.1111/jbi.14098