Using Leaf Architectural Data for Phenetic Ecological Comparison of Modern and Fossil Forest Stands

生态学家研究地球上当前出现的生态系统，并从这张图片（本质上是一段地质时间）中，他们试图解释多样性的海拔和纬度梯度以及生态系统对气候变化的反应等模式。相比之下，古生物学家使用分辨率低得多的数据，但提供了一个时间（历史）维度。这项建议将发展和试验一种方法，将这两个学科结合起来，并审查森林群落分布的历史宏观生态模式。拟议的工作将根据植物区系的叶片结构特征提供现代和化石森林生态系统的生态分类。这种方法是合理的，因为叶片性状与气候等生态因子之间存在关系，因此现代森林生态系统可以从叶片性状中合理地分类。私家侦探们建议将这种方法扩展到化石组合中。现代和化石叶片特征的大量数据集也将从这项工作中创建并公开。这些结果将提供一个定量的工具，通过这个工具生态学家可以把他们的研究放在一个更长的时间背景下，通过这个工具古生物学家可以开始用他们的研究解决重要的生态问题。

Ecologists study ecosystems that currently appear on the planet and from this picture, essentially a single slice of geological time, they attempt to explain patterns like altitudinal and latitudinal gradients in diversity and ecosystem responses to climatic change. In contrast, paleontologists work with much lower resolution data but provide a temporal (historical) dimension. This proposal will develop and test a methodology to combine these two disciplines and examine the historical, macro-ecological patterns of forest community distribution. The proposed work would provide an ecological classification of both modern and fossil forest ecosystems based on the leaf architectural characters of the floras. This approach is justified by the fact that there is a relationship between leaf traits and ecological factors such as climate, such that modern forests ecosystems can be reasonably classified from leaf traits. The P.I.s propose to extend this approach to fossil assemblages. A substantial data set of modern and fossil leaf traits will also be created and made publicly available from this work. The results would provide a quantitative tool through which ecologists could place their research into a much longer temporal context, and through which paleontologists could begin to address significant ecological questions with their research.