Oldest evidence of abundant C4 grasses and habitat heterogeneity in eastern Africa

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Peppe, Daniel J.; Cote, Susanne M.; Deino, Alan L.; Fox, David L.; Kingston, John D.; Kinyanjui, Rahab N.; Lukens, William E.; MacLatchy, Laura M.; Novello, Alice; Stromberg, Caroline A. E.; Driese, Steven G.; Garrett, Nicole D.; Hillis, Kayla R.; Jacobs, Bonnie F.; Jenkins, Kirsten E. H.; Kityo, Robert M.; Lehmann, Thomas; Manthi, Fredrick K.; Mbua, Emma N.; Michel, Lauren A.; Miller, Ellen R.; Mugume, Amon A. T.; Muteti, Samuel N.; Nengo, Isaiah O.; Oginga, Kennedy O.; Phelps, Samuel R.; Polissar, Pratigya; Rossie, James B.; Stevens, Nancy J.; Uno, Kevin T.; McNulty, Kieran P.
• 署名单位: Baylor University; University of Calgary; Berkeley Geochronolgy Center; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Max Planck Society; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; James Madison University; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); Universite PSL; College de France; INRAE; Aix-Marseille Universite; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); University of Washington; University of Washington Seattle; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Tennessee Technological University; Southern Methodist University; Makerere University; Leibniz Association; Senckenberg Gesellschaft fur Naturforschung (SGN); Wake Forest University; State University of New York (SUNY) System; Stony Brook University; State University of New York (SUNY) System; Stony Brook University; Harvard University; University of California System; University of California Santa Cruz; University System of Ohio; Ohio University; University System of Ohio; Ohio University; Columbia University; Aix-Marseille Universite
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-11517
• DOI: 10.1126/science.abq2834
• 发表日期: 2023-04-13
• 页码: 173-177
• 关键词: vegetation change; miocene; record; cover; indicator; paleosols

摘要

The assembly of Africa's iconic C-4 grassland ecosystems is central to evolutionary interpretations of many mammal lineages, including hominins. C-4 grasses are thought to have become ecologically dominant in Africa only after 10 million years ago (Ma). However, paleobotanical records older than 10 Ma are sparse, limiting assessment of the timing and nature of C-4 biomass expansion. This study uses a multiproxy design to document vegetation structure from nine Early Miocene mammal site complexes across eastern Africa. Results demonstrate that between similar to 21 and 16 Ma, C-4 grasses were locally abundant, contributing to heterogeneous habitats ranging from forests to wooded grasslands. These data push back the oldest evidence of C-4 grass-dominated habitats in Africa-and globally-by more than 10 million years, calling for revised paleoecological interpretations of mammalian evolution.