A Brief History of Seed Size
Natural History Museum · Yale University · +4 more institutions
Abstract
Improved phylogenies and the accumulation of broad comparative data sets have opened the way for phylogenetic analyses to trace trait evolution in major groups of organisms. We arrayed seed mass data for 12,987 species on the seed plant phylogeny and show the history of seed size from the emergence of the angiosperms through to the present day. The largest single contributor to the present-day spread of seed mass was the divergence between angiosperms and gymnosperms, whereas the widest divergence was between Celastraceae and Parnassiaceae. Wide divergences in seed size were more often associated with divergences in growth form than with divergences in dispersal syndrome or latitude. Cross-species studies and…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 45.26
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 32
Authors
6- ATAngela T. MolesCorresponding
Natural History Museum, Yale University, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Stanford University, Macquarie University
- DDDavid D. AckerlyCorresponding
Natural History Museum, Yale University, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Stanford University, Macquarie University
- COCampbell O. Webb
Natural History Museum, Yale University, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Stanford University, Macquarie University
- JCJohn C. Tweddle
Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Yale University, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Stanford University, Macquarie University
- JDJohn Dickie
Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Yale University, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Stanford University, Macquarie University
Topics & keywords
- Biology
- Divergence (linguistics)
- Seed dispersal
- Biological dispersal
- Phylogenetic tree
- Phylogenetics
- Trait
- Phylogenetic comparative methods
- Life in Land