Some biological consequences of environmental change: A study using barnacles (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha) and gum trees (Angiospermae: Myrtaceae)

Integrative Zoology - Tập 5 Số 2 - Trang 122-131 - 2010
John S. Buckeridge1
1Earth and Oceanic Systems, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Tóm tắt

Abstract

Uniformitarianism permits understanding of the past on the basis of the present, and modeling the future through consideration of the fossil record. The present paper addresses the impact environmental (climatic) change has had on acorn barnacles and eucalyptus trees. Acorn barnacles (Balanomorpha) are first recorded after the K/T mass‐extinction event. In the Paleogene, rapid radiation resulted in their occupying most marine environments. That balanomorphs survived both the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum and the Pleistocene glaciation is testament to their ability to adapt to opportunities; they are known from the littoral (Chamaesipho) to depths of 3600 m (Tetrachaelasma) and within this from diverse substrates: rock, wood and miscellaneous flotsam, plus in symbiosis or commensalism with most larger marine organisms. Darwin's (1854) view of the late Tertiary as the age of barnacles is reflected in their diversity, distribution and biomass. Barnacles are contrasted with the Australian Myrtaceae: plants ranging from woody shrubs to tall trees. The most significant is Eucalyptus sensu lato, which typifies Australia's flora, and is characterized by aromatic leaves that produce eucalyptol. Eucalyptus has evolved strategies that result in its domination of Australian open woodlands: these include production of highly flammable eucalyptol oil (with a flashpoint of 49 °C) and an unprecedented ability to regenerate following forest fires. Gum trees and barnacles first appear in the Paleogene, their earliest records are Australasian, and they both demonstrate extraordinary resilience when environmental conditions are optimal.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1071/BT9840475

10.1071/9780643069701

Buckeridge JS, 1983, The fossil barnacles (Cirripedia: Thoracica) of New Zealand and Australia, New Zealand Geological Survey Paleontological Bulletin, 50, 1

Buckeridge JS, 1996, Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Primitive Sessilia and a consideration of a Tethyan origin for the group, Crustacean Issues, 10, 255

10.1080/00288330.1999.9516897

Buckeridge JS, 2007, Gauging priorities for the ethical use of water, Issues, 79, 23

Buckeridge JS, 2009, The ongoing evolution of humanness: Perspectives from Darwin to de Chardin, South African Journal of Science, 105, 427

Buckeridge JS, 2010, The New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity

10.1111/j.1749-4877.2009.00145.x

Buckeridge JS, 2010, A review of the subfamily Elminiinae (Cirripedia: Thoracica: Austrobalanidae), including a new genus, Protelminius nov. from the Oligocene of New Zealand, Zootaxa, 2349, 39, 10.11646/zootaxa.2349.1.3

Climate Research Unit University of East Anglia United Kingdom(2010).[Cited 22 Jan 2010.] Available from URL:http://www.uea.ac.uk/mac/comm/media/press/2009/nov/CRUupdate

Darwin C, 1854, A Monograph on the sub‐class Cirripedia. The Balanidae and Verrucidae

Darwin C, 1859, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

Florence RG, 1996, Ecology and Silviculture of Eucalypt Forests

Foster BA, 1987, Crustacean Issues 5: Barnacle Biology, 43

Jones DS, 1990, Technical Reports of the Australian Museum

10.1080/03115517808527776

10.3354/meps08099

National Forest Inventory (NFI), 2005, Report on the National Forest Inventory Workshop on Monitoring Forest Extent and Condition; 15–16 November 2005, Melbourne, Australia

NewmanWA RossA(1976).Revision of the balanomorph barnacles; including a catalog of the species.San Diego Society of Natural History Memoir 9 pp.1–108.

NFPA, 2001, Fire Protection Guide to Hazardous Materials

Nicholson PH, 1981, Fire and the Australian Biota, 55

Rozefelds AC, 1996, Eucalyptus phylogeny and history: A brief summary, Tasforests, 8, 15

Scher HD, 2006, Timing and climatic consequences of the opening of Drake Passage, Science, 428, 312

10.1007/BF00385245

10.1023/A:1005523330643

10.1029/2001JD002042

10.1006/mpev.1995.1023

White ME, 1986, The Greening of Gondwana. The 400 Million Year Story of Australia's plants

White ME, 1994, After the Greening: The Browning of Australia