Hemisphere-scale differences in conifer evolutionary dynamics
- A. Leslie, J. Beaulieu, H. Rai, P. Crane, M. Donoghue, S. Mathews
- Environmental Science, BiologyProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 17 September 2012
The abundance of recent divergences in northern clades may reflect complex patterns of migration and range shifts during climatic cycles over the later Neogene leading to elevated rates of speciation and extinction, whereas the scattered persistence of mild, wetter habitats in the Southern Hemisphere may have favored the survival of older lineages.
An overview of extant conifer evolution from the perspective of the fossil record.
- A. Leslie, J. Beaulieu, S. Mathews
- Environmental Science, BiologyAmerican-Eurasian journal of botany
- 29 August 2018
A new time-calibrated molecular tree that samples ~90% of extant species diversity and phylogenetic relationships and estimated divergence ages in this new phylogeny with the paleobotanical record are presented, focusing on clades that are species-rich and well known from fossils.
Leaf wax composition and carbon isotopes vary among major conifer groups
- A. Diefendorf, A. Leslie, S. Wing
- Environmental Science
- 1 December 2015
Fossils matter: improved estimates of divergence times in Pinus reveal older diversification
- Bianca Saladin, A. Leslie, N. Zimmermann
- BiologybioRxiv
- 4 September 2016
This study is the first to estimate the divergence dates of pines based on a large number of fossils evenly distributed across all major clades, in combination with applying both node and tip dating methods.
Whole-Plant Reconstruction and Phylogenetic Relationships of Elatides zhoui sp. nov. (Cupressaceae) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia
- G. Shi, A. Leslie, P. Crane
- Environmental Science, GeographyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL PLANT SCIENCES
- 17 September 2014
Elatides zhoui provides further evidence for the diversity of Cupressaceae sensu lato during the Cretaceous and supports the hypothesis that cunninghamioid conifers in particular were diverse and widespread during the early evolution of the Cupressidae.
Shifting functional roles and the evolution of conifer pollen-producing and seed-producing cones
- A. Leslie
- Environmental Science, GeographyPaleobiology
- 7 September 2011
Results suggest that increases in the strength and complexity of biotic interactions in the Jurassic and Cretaceous were a primary driver of conifer reproductive evolution, and that patterns of character evolution relate to the increasing importance of cone tissue in seed protection and seed dispersal through time.
Cupressaceae Conifers from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia
- Fabiany Herrera, G. Shi, P. Herendeen
- BiologyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL PLANT SCIENCES
- 1 January 2017
Together with previously described fossils, Pentakonos and Stutzeliastrobus provide additional evidence that both Cunninghamia-like and Taiwania-like plants were important elements in the early diversification of the Cupressaceae s.l.
Variation in seed size is structured by dispersal syndrome and cone morphology in conifers and other nonflowering seed plants.
- A. Leslie, J. Beaulieu, Sarah Mathews
- Environmental ScienceNew Phytologist
- 1 October 2017
Seed size and cone morphology evolve in a correlated manner in many animal-dispersed conifers, following a trade-off that minimizes the total size of the dispersal unit.
A New Voltzian Seed Cone from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and Its Implications for the Evolution of Ancient Conifers
- Fabiany Herrera, G. Shi, P. Herendeen
- GeographyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL PLANT SCIENCES
- 17 August 2015
Krassilovia mongolica provides evidence of the additional diversity of extinct voltzian conifers and shows that some persisted to inhabit forest-moor swamp environments in eastern Asia during the Early Cretaceous.
Ovule Function and the Evolution of Angiosperm Reproductive Innovations
- A. Leslie, C. Kevin Boyce
- Environmental Science, BiologyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL PLANT SCIENCES
- 29 June 2012
By decoupling ovules from pollination, the carpel fundamentally altered the way in which pollination occurs in angiosperms relative to other seed plants, and may have expanded the types of reproductive structures angiosPerms could develop and the specificity with which these structures could interact with pollinators.
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