The Siluro-Devonian primary radiation of land biotas is the terrestrial equivalent of the much-debated Cambrian "explosion" of marine faunas. Both show the hallmarks of novelty radiations (phenotypic diversity increases much more rapidly than species diversity across an ecologically undersaturated and thus low-competition landscape), and both ended with the formation of evolutionary and ecological frameworks analogous to those of modem ecosystems. Profound improvements in understanding early land plant evolution reflect recent liberations from several research constraints: Cladistic techniques plus DNA sequence data from extant relatives have prompted revolutionary reinterpretations of land plant phylogeny, and thus of systematics and character-state acquisition patterns. Biomechanical and physiological experimental techniques developed for extant 263 0066-4162/98/1120-0263$08.00 264 BATEMAN ET AL plants have been extrapolated to fossil species, with interpretations both aided and complicated by the recent knowledge that global landmass positions, currents, climates, and atmospheric compositions have been profoundly variable (and thus nonuniformitarian) through the Phanerozoic. Combining phylogenetic and paleoecological data offers potential insights into the identity and function of key innovations, though current evidence suggests the importance of accumulating within lineages a critical mass of phenotypic character. Challenges to further progress include the lack of sequence data and paucity of phenotypic features among the early land plant clades, and a fossil record still inadequate to date accurately certain crucial evolutionary and ecological events.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.