Research Areas
How has plant form and diversity changed through time? What major patterns and processes underlie plant evolution? How have biotic and abiotic processes influenced the diversification of plant lineages? Living and fossil organisms provide complementary perspectives on these fundamental questions, and together have enormous potential for elucidating plant macroevolution. We investigate these types of questions for a variety of groups and time periods, using multifaceted and creative approaches that integrate methods from multiple fields. Keep scrolling for more information on future and ongoing projects in the lab.
Conifer tree of death
Extant Pinus seed cone
The conifers comprise a diverse and ancient group of seed plants found around the world today. They have persisted in terrestrial environments for hundreds of millions of years through dramatic changes to the Earth system. Although the phylogeny of living conifers has been studied extensively, their relationships with extinct conifers remain unresolved, leaving many questions on conifer evolutionary history unanswered. This project, funded by an NSF CAREER award, is aimed at better understanding the phylogenetic relationships of living and extinct conifers, evolutionary development of reproductive organs, and shifts in global diversity and distributions through time.
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This project involves: morphology & anatomy of living species, developmental gene expression, fossil descriptions, fossil databasing, phylogenetics, divergence-time estimation
Palm macroevolution
Today, members of the palm family (Arecaceae) are ubiquitous components of tropical ecosystems, and are tremendously ecologically and morphologically diverse. They also have an extensive, global fossil record. This research agenda is focused on using fossils to understand the evolutionary origins of modern palm diversity. Specifically, we are the interested in the relationship between palms and the origin of modern tropical rainforests, historical biogeography, evolutionary tempo, and the role environmental/climatic changes in palm diversification.
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This project involves: fossil descriptions, morphology & anatomy of living palms, fossil databasing, phylogenetics, divergence-time estimation, phylogenetic comparative methods, and functional traits.
Time-calibrated phylogenetic tree of the palm family based on recent fossil discoveries
Enigmatic fossil plants from India
Fossil floras of India provide snapshots of plant diversity during an interesting and dynamic interval of India's history. The Deccan Intertrappean Beds preserve terrestrial floras that flourished around 66 million years ago, when India was geographically isolated and undergoing extensive volcanism. The cherts of the Rajmahal Basin originate from the Early Cretaceous, ~129–113 million years ago, following the initial breakup of Gondwana and prior to ecological dominance of flowering plants in India. This project is aimed at better understanding these floras and the role of India in the history of plant lineages.
This project involves: fossil descriptions, morphology & anatomy of living plants, phylogenetics, and µCT scanning
Fruit of monocot Tricoccites trigonum from the Deccan Intetrappean Beds
µCT for Paleobotany
X-ray micro-computed tomography, or µCT, is a 3D imaging technique that has gained widespread usage in paleontology. We use µCT to non-destructively study fossil specimens, produce 3D images and models for more effective science communication, and rapidly survey morphology and anatomy of extant plants for comparative work and building morphological datasets. We also explore novel applications and techniques using this technology.
µCT volume rendering of Viracarpon phytolaccoides fossil infructescence