Supervisor: José Madeira (University of Lisbon)
Co-supervisors: José María Fernández-Palacios (University of La Laguna), Miguel Menezes de Sequeira (University of Madeira)
Dissertation online: https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.25325.10729
Palaeobotanical research on oceanic islands has been largely ignored despite
its importance for providing empirical proof to disentangle insular plant diversity, evolution, ecology and biogeography. Here we use the oceanic
archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores as a “testing ground” (Fig. 1a), via fieldwork and laboratorial and collection-based research, to demonstrate the existence of well-preserved and palaeobiologically informative plant fossils
(Góis-Marques, 2020). In Madeira, mid-19th century collections from the São Jorge leaf bed (Fig. 2b) were stratigraphically and
taxonomically reappraised, revealing the presence of the stink-laurel forest at 7–1.8 Ma, similar to the extant community (Góis-Marques et al.,
2018). Porto da Cruz sediment exploration and new 40Ar–39Ar dating revealed the existence at 1.3 Ma of the extinct Eurya stigmosa (Theaceae) (Fig. 1d; Góis-Marques et al., 2019d), the neoendemic Melanoselinum decipiens (Apiaceae) (Fig. 1c; Góis-Marques et al., 2019a) and the probable ancestor of the Madeiran
besom heath, Erica sect. Chlorocodon (Ericaceae). Preliminary prospection and dating of limnic sediments revealed the presence of suitable Pleisto-Holocene palynological
content for palaeoecological reconstruction. In the Azores archipelago, the
historical fossil collection (Góis-Marques and Menezes de Sequeira,
2015) and palaeobotanical review revealed the existence of plant fossils on all the islands (Fig. 1g; Góis-Marques et al., 2019b). On Faial,
charcoalified wood found within the 1200-year BP ignimbrite (Fig. 1e) revealed the presence of abundant Prunus lusitanica subsp. azorica (Fig. 1f), today a rare endemic tree due to anthropic impacts (Góis-Marques et al., 2020). Fanal Bay leaf beds
(Terceira) were prospected during 2016, revealing an in situ leaf litter forest, but these were destroyed in 2018 despite being within the Azores
UNESCO global Geopark (Góis-Marques et al., 2019c). Here we demonstrate,
for both archipelagos, the presence of an abundant and well-preserved plant
fossil record, ranging probably from the Miocene but mostly Pleistocene to Holocene (Fig. 1g). These plant fossils are valuable, as they provide minimum ages for future phylogeny calibration and clues on the evolution of
insular syndromes and allow the inference of the anthropic impact on
pristine insular vegetation. However, this information can only be retrieved
if the palaeobotanical geoheritage in these archipelagos is protected and properly studied.
Data availability
The papers that constitute this thesis are published or
submitted (see reference list).
Competing interests
The contact author has declared that there are no competing interests.
Disclaimer
Publisher’s note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Acknowledgements
This thesis was supported by the SYNTHESYS
project (GB-TAF-3203; http://www.synthesys.info/, last acess: 10 May 2021), which is financed by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 Integrating Activities Programme.
Financial support
This research has been supported by the ARDITI – Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation project (PhD grant: M1420-09-5369-FSE-000001).
The article processing charge was funded by the Quaternary scientific community, as represented by the host institution of EGQSJ, the German Quaternary Association (DEUQUA).
Review statement
This paper was edited by Daniela Sauer and reviewed by one anonymous referee.
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