Flowering Trees and Birds: Life after 130 million years of marriage
Angiosperms – the flowering plants – evolved from gymnosperms around 130 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period, with a rapid diversification leading to the dominance of angiosperms as the primary terrestrial plants by the end of the Cretaceous. Many of them were trees, a growth form of perennial plants with a woody trunk that supports branches and leaves. They are characterized by secondary growth, which allows their trunks to thicken and their height to increase over time. The tree growth form has evolved many times in the evolutionary history of flowering plants.
Like angiosperms, bird also evoved through the Jurassic and diversified into the Cretaceous, at the same time trees evolved and diversified. Indeed, it can be said that birds and flowering trees co-evolved through 130 million years of marriage. Modern birds evolved in the late Cretaceous, and like angiosperms, survived the extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Both birds and trees underwent adaptive radiation throughout the Cenozoic. In this webinar we will trace the coevolution of trees and birds, and look at some aspects of this relationship as manifest today.
Additional Details
Webinar link - https://meet.google.com/nbb-ycms-xxz
Meeting ID - NA
Passcode - NA
Event platform - google_meet
Organizer
Derek was biology professor for over 20 years, and discovered several species new to science (not birds, alas), and even has a species named after him. His studies have encompassed ecology, systematics and phylogeny, as well as technology in education. He has published around 80 academic papers, and more than 100 magazine articles in which he has brought science and nature to lay persons. He has also been a university Deputy Vice Chancellor, held various technology roles in university and business, and is a technology geek. Derek is an accomplished nature photographer on land and under water, with his photos appearing in over 20 books, hundreds of magazines, several mobile apps, and museum exhibits. Today he works in FinTech, but prefers to spend time photographing birds and unravelling their stories so he can re-tell them to humans. He is co-founder and looks after the technology and arrangements for Learn-the-Birds.