title: Linked canopy, climate, and faunal change in the Cenozoic of Patagonia.
abstract: Vegetation structure is a key determinant of ecosystems and ecosystem function, but paleoecological techniques to quantify it are lacking. We present a method for reconstructing leaf area index (LAI) based on light-dependent morphology of leaf epidermal cells and phytoliths derived from them. Using this proxy, we reconstruct LAI for the Cenozoic (49 million to 11 million years ago) of middle-latitude Patagonia. Our record shows that dense forests opened up by the late Eocene; open forests and shrubland habitats then fluctuated, with a brief middle-Miocene regreening period. Furthermore, endemic herbivorous mammals show accelerated tooth crown height evolution during open, yet relatively grass-free, shrubland habitat intervals. Our Patagonian LAI record provides a high-resolution, sensitive tool with which to dissect terrestrial ecosystem response to changing Southern Ocean conditions during the Cenozoic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. dunnr@u.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Regan E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline A E
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Strömberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Madden
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.affiliation: Paleontología de Vertebrados, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Alfredo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Carlini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D057231:Climate Change; D003364:Costa Rica; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D005580:Fossils; D065948:Grassland; D008322:Mammals / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000166:cytology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010944:Plants; D013020:South America; D013995:Time; D019228:Tooth Crown / Q000033:anatomy & histology