Morphological diversification of angiosperm leaves

My thesis research focuses on the discordance and concordance between leaf morphological disparity and taxonomic diversity in angiosperm leaf floras ranging through the Cretaceous and early Tertiary, as well as in modern tropical and temperate forests. I am interested in understanding the complex relationship(s) between leaf form and climate, ecology, and evolutionary history. Along the way, I'm analyzing digital imaging techniques and comparing digitally-obtained leaf measurements to traditionally scored character states in order to determine whether continuous variables may be more informative than discrete character states in describing and comparing leaves. Please contact me if you seek further information or discussion of these topics.

Cenomanian Fossil Plants from Egypt

In Spring, 2001, I spent six weeks in the Bahariya Oasis (Western Desert, Egypt) collecting fossil plants from the Cenomanian (mid-Cretaceous) Bahariya Formation. Kirk Johnson (a paleobotanist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science) and Doug Nichols (a palynologist with the USGS) rounded out the paleobotanical team invited by the Bahariya Dinosaur Project to seek more information about the paleoecology of the region. We found a number of interesting angiosperms not previously described from the Bahariya Formation, as well as abundant insect damage on many leaves. More information will be forthcoming as (or possibly if!) the fossils are shipped to the United States. A number of photos from the Egypt trip are available here.


A 95 million year old compound leaf from Bahariya

Fossil Plant-Insect Interactions

As an undergraduate, I assisted on a research project conducted by Dena Smith (now at University of Colorado at Boulder) for her doctoral degree. By looking at the amount and types of insect damage on fossil leaves from the Green River Formation and the Florissant Fossil Beds, and on a variety of leaves from modern forests, we were trying to better understand any changes in insect damage through time that might be associated with the cooling of North American climate during the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. Some photographs of fossil leaves showing insect damage are included on my images page. For more information on this project, please contact Dena Smith or visit her website. Peter Wilf (Penn State) and Conrad Labandeira (Smithsonian's NMNH) are also doing exciting research in this field.


| Home | Personal | Curriculum Vitae | Images | Links |