TY - JOUR
T1 - Summer-wet Hydrologic Cycle During the Middle Miocene of the United States
T2 - New evidence from Fossil Fungi
AU - O'Keefe, Jennifer M.K.
AU - Pound, Matthew J.
AU - Romero, Ingrid C.
AU - Nuñez Otaño, Noelia B.
AU - Gibson, Martha E.
AU - McCoy, Jessica
AU - Alden, Margaret E.
AU - Fairchild, C. Jolene
AU - Fitzpatrick, Julia
AU - Hodgson, Emily
AU - Horsfall, Taylor
AU - Jones, Savannah B.
AU - Lennex-Stone, June E.
AU - Marsh, Christopher A.
AU - Patel, Alyssa A.
AU - Spears, Tyler M.
AU - Tarlton, Laikin
AU - Smallwood, Liberty F.
AU - VanderEspt, O. L.
AU - Cabrera, Jeremyah R.
AU - Eble, Cortland F.
AU - Rember, William C.
AU - Starnes, James E.
AU - Alford, Mac H.
AU - Brink, Alyson
AU - Warny, Sophie
PY - 2024/9/5
Y1 - 2024/9/5
N2 - Hydrologic reconstructions from North America are largely unknown for the Middle Miocene. Examination of fungal palynomorph assemblages coupled with traditional plant-based palynology permits delineation of local, as opposed to regional, climate signals and provides a baseline for study of ancient fungas. Here the Fungi in a Warmer World project presents paleoecology and paleoclimatology of 351 fungal morphotypes from three sites in the United States: the Clarkia Konservat-Lagerstätte site (Idaho), Alum Bluff site (Florida), and the Bouie River site (Mississippi). Of these, 83 fungi are identified as extant taxa and 41 are newly reported from the Miocene. Combining new plant-based paleoclimatic reconstructions with funga-based paleoclimate reconstructions, we demonstrate cooling and hydrologic changes from the Miocene Climate Optimum to the Serravallian. In the southeastern United States, this is comparable to that reconstructed with pollen and paleobotany alone. In the northwestern United States, cooling is greater than indicated by other reconstructions and hydrology shifts seasonally, from no dry season to a dry summer season. Our results demonstrate the utility of fossil fungi as paleoecologic and paleoclimatic proxies and that warmer than modern geological time intervals do not match the “wet gets wetter, dry gets drier” paradigm. Instead, both plants and fungi show an invigorated hydrological cycle across mid-latitude North America
AB - Hydrologic reconstructions from North America are largely unknown for the Middle Miocene. Examination of fungal palynomorph assemblages coupled with traditional plant-based palynology permits delineation of local, as opposed to regional, climate signals and provides a baseline for study of ancient fungas. Here the Fungi in a Warmer World project presents paleoecology and paleoclimatology of 351 fungal morphotypes from three sites in the United States: the Clarkia Konservat-Lagerstätte site (Idaho), Alum Bluff site (Florida), and the Bouie River site (Mississippi). Of these, 83 fungi are identified as extant taxa and 41 are newly reported from the Miocene. Combining new plant-based paleoclimatic reconstructions with funga-based paleoclimate reconstructions, we demonstrate cooling and hydrologic changes from the Miocene Climate Optimum to the Serravallian. In the southeastern United States, this is comparable to that reconstructed with pollen and paleobotany alone. In the northwestern United States, cooling is greater than indicated by other reconstructions and hydrology shifts seasonally, from no dry season to a dry summer season. Our results demonstrate the utility of fossil fungi as paleoecologic and paleoclimatic proxies and that warmer than modern geological time intervals do not match the “wet gets wetter, dry gets drier” paradigm. Instead, both plants and fungi show an invigorated hydrological cycle across mid-latitude North America
U2 - 10.34133/research.0481
DO - 10.34133/research.0481
M3 - Article
SN - 2096-5168
JO - Research
JF - Research
M1 - 0481
ER -
