Journal
PLOS BIOLOGY
Volume 12, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001949
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Funding
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory graduate research fellowship
- Geological Society of America student research grant
- NSF pre-doctoral fellowship
- NSF ATB and Macrosystems award [Macrosystems - NSF DEB 1065861, ATB - NSF EF 0742800]
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The Chicxulub bolide impact caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction of plants, but the associated selectivity and ecological effects are poorly known. Using a unique set of North Dakota leaf fossil assemblages spanning 2.2 Myr across the event, we show among angiosperms a reduction of ecological strategies and selection for fast-growth strategies consistent with a hypothesized recovery from an impact winter. Leaf mass per area (carbon investment) decreased in both mean and variance, while vein density (carbon assimilation rate) increased in mean, consistent with a shift towards fast'' growth strategies. Plant extinction from the bolide impact resulted in a shift in functional trait space that likely had broad consequences for ecosystem functioning.
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