Changes in floral diversities, floral turnover rates, and climates in Campanian and Maastrichtian time, North Slope of Alaska

Cretaceous Research
By:

Links

Abstract

One-hundred-and-ten angiosperm pollen taxa have been found in upper Campanian to Masstrichtian rocks of the Colville River region, North Slope of Alaska. These are the highest paleolatitude Campanian and Maastrichtian floras known from North America. Total angiosperm pollen diversity rose during the Campanian and declined toward the end of the Maastrichtian. However, anemophilous porate pollen of the Betulaceae-Myricaceae-Ulmaceae complex increased gradually in diversity during the late Campanian and Maastrichtian and into the Paleocene. Turnover of angiosperm taxa was active throughout most of late Campanian and Maastrichtian time; rapid turnover affected mainly the taxa of zoophilous herbs, representing an bundant but ecologically subordinate element of the vegetation. Last appearances of pollen taxa during the late Campanian and Maastrichtian probably represented mainly extinctions rather than emigrations; end- Cretaceous angiosperm extinctions in the North American Arctic began well before the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary event. The last appearances in the late Maastrichtian took place in bursts; they appear to represent stepwise rather than gradual events, which may indicate the existence of pulses of climatic change particularly in late Maastrichtian time. ?? 1989.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Changes in floral diversities, floral turnover rates, and climates in Campanian and Maastrichtian time, North Slope of Alaska
Series title Cretaceous Research
DOI 10.1016/0195-6671(89)90021-9
Volume 10
Issue 3
Year Published 1989
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Description 18 p.
First page 249
Last page 266
Country United States
State Alaska
Other Geospatial North Slope
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details