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Selena Smith: Using fossils to find roots

Dr. Selena Smith and her team use slices of modern and fossil plants to understand how plants have changed over time. By comparing the structure and form of modern and ancient plants, researchers can figure out where fossil plants fit in the tree of life, understand how ancient plants functioned as part of an ecosystem, and infer what future changes may look like.

Meet Selena Smith

Selena Smith, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences and the Program in the Environment, and Associate Research Scientist in the Museum of Paleontology at University of Michigan.

 

Monocots

Flowering plants are divided into two main groups: monocots and non-monocots, also called dicots. Dr. Smith studies the paleobiology and evolution of monocots.

Monocots have flower parts in multiples of threes. Dicots have flower parts in multiples of four or five. In leaves, monocots have parallel veins while dicots have veins that branch out.

 

Tree of Life

Dr. Smith’s lab categorizes the structures of modern plants to compare with fossil plants from the Cretaceous (approximately 145-66 MYA) and Paleogene (approx. 66-23 MYA). By doing so, researchers can figure out where fossil plants belong in the tree of life.

 

A-peeling History

One of Dr. Smith’s favorite methods of examining plant fossils is the cellulose acetate peel technique. 

Watch as Dr. Smith uses this technique to take a cross section of the woody stem of Medullosa noei, an extinct plant from 300 million years ago which has no living relatives today.

 

Trial and Error

Plant evolution puzzles require a lot of patient trial and error, as well as luck. Dr. Smith’s research is still in an early phase as her team gathers multifaceted data on each plant sample they study.

 

What’s Next?

Dr. Smith’s next research project will focus on the evolution of angiosperms, or flowering plants. 

She’ll be working at new field sites on James Ross and Vega Islands in Antarctica, in collaboration with Dr. Brian Atkinson, Assistant Professor and Curator of Paleobotany at the University of Kansas, and Dr. Ari Iglesias of Universidad Nacional del Comahue in Argentina.

 

3D Imaging

3D reconstruction of Ceratopetalum suciensis, a fossil fruit and Ceratopetalum succirubrum, an extant (living) species. 

About Ceratopetalum suciensis: Research was conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit “160401” at Sucia Island State. Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission are the legal stewards of Sucia Island State Park and its paleontological natural resources.

 

 

 

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