In the Mesozoic the Antarctic region formed the centre of a much larger continent called Gondwana. As such it provided connections between fragments such as Africa, Australia India, South America and New Zealand as Gondwana split apart. For this reason Antarctic floras are key in understanding how patterns of plant distribution developed. At the same time that Gondwana was breaking up flowering plants were radiating from tropical to high latitude regions. Thus the history of the Antarctic vegetation is central in determining how angiosperms radiated across the southern continents. However, our knowledge of Antarctic floras is limited largely due to the lack of exploration and investigation of this region. There are a number of floras known from the Antarctic region and these are being investigated in this study to provide a framework for looking at long-term vegetational change. One of the key areas in this study is to determine past ecological conditions. For much of the last 200 million years the Antarctic region has been located in high latitudes. During greenhouse periods lush vegetation flourished in a region that is covered by snow and ice today. These plant communities grew in conditions that have no modern analog today; a strongly seasonal polar light regime and warm conditions. The ecology of this unique vegetation is one of the key aspects to understanding how plants grew in these conditions.Collaborators:
Dr Imogen Poole, Utrecht
Dr Jane Francis, Leeds
Dr Anne Marie Tossolini, Melbourne
Dr Jenny Greenhalgh, Timetrax
Recent Publications
Cantrill, D.J. & Nagalingum, N.S. 2005. Pteridophytes from the Cretaceous of Alexander Island, Antarctica: implications for Cretaceous phytogeography of the Southern Hemisphere. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 137: 83-103.Nagalingum, N.S. & Cantrill, D.J. 2006. Early Cretaceous Gleicheniaceae and Matoniacae (Gleicheniales) from Alexander Island, Antarctica. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology: 138: 73-93.
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