Sporomorph chemistry, size and morphological disparity: towards a better understanding of the plant fossil record
Final Report Abstract
Sporomorphs (pollen and spores) are a key tool for reconstructing vegetation change in the past, and analysing plant evolution and palaeoecology. However, the low taxonomic resolution obtainable from sporomorphs, and the challenge of confidently assigning fossil specimens to extant taxa, mean that robust estimates of past biodiversity are difficult to obtain from sporomorph data, and challenging to integrate with extant vegetation data. The aim of this project was to assess alternative ways of generating data from sporomorphs, to increase the amount of information obtainable and enhance the potential for integrating data across timescales. Analyses of sporomorph chemistry showed that processing extant sporomorphs to make them comparable to fossils is challenging, with processing approaches either altering the chemistry of the sporopollenin wall, or not fully removing the outer labile compounds. Diagenetic chemical changes also appear to occur within several hundred thousand years of burial, which makes integrating extant and fossil sporomorph chemistry data difficult; however, useable information is still obtainable from fossil specimens. Sporomorph size is a straightforward variable to measure, but linking it to clear drivers, including climate and genome size, was problematic. These results therefore do not support using sporomorph size as a basis for fossil record proxies. Nevertheless, analysis of sporomorph morphology and disparity showed high potential for quantifying morphological evolution and directly integrating extant and fossil datasets. It is important to carefully consider the methods used to generate the morphological data, however, because these can impact greatly on the final result. Taken together, these results show that generating meaningful data from sporomorphs is not a trivial task, even when novel methods are employed. Morphological analysis shows the most promise for uncovering new information from the fossil record, and future work should focus on understanding the drivers of sporomorph morphological variation, and the evolutionary processes that have led to the incredible diversity seen in the modern day.
Publications
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Data and code for “Sporopollenin chemistry and its durability in the geological record: an integration of extant and fossil chemical data across the seed plants”.
Jardine, P.E., Hoorn, C., Beer, M.A.M., Barbolini, N., Woutersen, A., Bogotá-Angel, G., Gosling, W.D., Fraser, W.T., Lomax, B.H., Huang, H., Sciumbata, M., He, H. & Dupont-Nivet, G.
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Climate and geological change as drivers of Mauritiinae palm biogeography. Journal of Biogeography, 48(5), 1001-1022.
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; da Silveira, Rosemery Rocha; Lim, Jun Ying; Prasad, Vandana; Morley, Robert J. ... & Hoorn, Carina
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Sporopollenin chemistry and its durability in the geological record: an integration of extant and fossil chemical data across the seed plants. Palaeontology, 64(2), 285-305.
Jardine, Phillip E.; Hoorn, Carina; Beer, Maxine A.M.; Barbolini, Natasha; Woutersen, Amber; Bogota‐Angel, Giovanni; Gosling, William D.; Fraser, Wesley T.; Lomax, Barry H.; Huang, Huasheng; Sciumbata, Matteo; He, Huajie & Dupont‐Nivet, Guillaume
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2022. Can pollen and spore size be used to predict genome size? 11th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference (EPPC)
Jardine, P.E. & Lomax, B.H.
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2022. Is pollen size a useful proxy in paleobiogeographic studies? A comprehensive assessment from Poaceae pollen size study in the Amazon drainage basin. 11th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference (EPPC)
Wei, C., Jardine, P.E. & Hoorn, C.
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2022. Why does pollen morphology vary? Morphospace occupation, disparity and evolutionary rates as tools to understand the evolution of pollen form. 11th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference (EPPC)
Jardine, P.E., Palazzesi, L., Tellería, M.C. & Barreda, V.D.
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Data and code for “Why does pollen morphology vary? Evolutionary dynamics and morphospace occupation in the largest angiosperm order (Asterales)”.
Jardine, P.E., Palazzesi, L., Tellería, M.C. & Barreda, V.D.
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Testing pollen size as a proxy for palaeo-genome size. BES MacroFest 2022
Jardine, P.E. & Lomax, B.H.
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Why does pollen morphology vary? Evolutionary dynamics and morphospace occupation in the largest angiosperm order (Asterales). New Phytologist, 234(3), 1075-1087.
Jardine, Phillip E.; Palazzesi, Luis; Tellería, M. Cristina & Barreda, Viviana D.
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Data and code for “Uncovering a phylogenetic signal in plant biopolymer chemistry: a comparison of sporopollenin isolation approaches for use in palynological research”.
Jardine, P.E., Kent, M.S., Fraser, W.T., Knorr, K.-H. & Lomax, B.H.
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Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation and ozone layer disruption during the end-Permian mass extinction. Copernicus GmbH.
Jardine, Phillip; Peng, Huiping; Marshall, John; Lomax, Barry; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Kent, Matthew; Fraser, Wesley & Lui, Feng
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Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction. Science Advances, 9(1).
Liu, Feng; Peng, Huiping; Marshall, John E. A.; Lomax, Barry H.; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Kent, Matthew S.; Fraser, Wesley T. & Jardine, Phillip E.
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Grass pollen surface ornamentation is diverse across the phylogeny: Evidence from northern South America and the global literature. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 62(4), 687-701.
Wei, Cai‐Xia; Jardine, Phillip E.; Mao, Li‐Mi; Mander, Luke; Li, Mao; Gosling, William D. & Hoorn, Carina
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Integrating extant and Quaternary biodiversity assessment through shared priority metrics: palynological data as an archive of phylogenetic diversity. XXI INQUA congress 2023
Jardine, P.E.
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Is Poaceae pollen size a useful proxy in palaeoecological studies? New insights from a Poaceae pollen morphological study in the Amazon. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 308, 104790.
Wei, Caixia; Jardine, Phillip E.; Gosling, William D. & Hoorn, Carina
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Response to Comment on “Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction”. Science Advances, 9(34).
Jardine, Phillip E.; Peng, Huiping; Marshall, John E. A.; Lomax, Barry H.; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Kent, Matthew S.; Fraser, Wesley T. & Liu, Feng
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The evolutionary history of the Central Asian steppe-desert taxon Nitraria (Nitrariaceae) as revealed by integration of fossil pollen morphology and molecular data. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 202(2), 195-214.
Woutersen, Amber; Jardine, Phillip E.; Silvestro, Daniele; Bogotá-Angel, Raul Giovanni; Zhang, Hong-Xiang; Meijer, Niels; Bouchal, Johannes; Barbolini, Natasha; Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume; Koutsodendris, Andreas; Antonelli, Alexandre & Hoorn, Carina
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Uncovering a phylogenetic signal in plant biopolymer chemistry: a comparison of sporopollenin isolation approaches for use in palynological research. Palaeontology, 66(6).
Jardine, Phillip E.; Kent, Matthew S.; Fraser, Wesley T.; Knorr, Klaus‐Holger & Lomax, Barry H.
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2024. Quantifying pollen morphology: a comparison of methods. XV International Palynological Congress/XI International Organization of Palaeobotany Conference
Jardine, P.E. & Holt, K.A.
