Articles | Volume 23, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-15-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-15-2020
Research article
 | 
21 Feb 2020
Research article |  | 21 Feb 2020

Sampling fossil floras for the study of insect herbivory: how many leaves is enough?

Sandra R. Schachat, S. Augusta Maccracken, and Conrad C. Labandeira

Cited articles

Beck, A. L. and Labandeira, C. C.: Early Permian Insect Folivory on a Gigantopterid-Dominated Riparian Flora from North-Central Texas, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 142, 139–173, 1998. a
Béthoux, O., Galtier, J., and Nel, A.: Earliest Evidence of Insect Endophytic Oviposition, Palaios, 19, 408–413, https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0408:EEOIEO>2.0.CO;2, 2004. a
Bowen, Z. and Freeman, M.: Sampling Effort and Estimates of Species Richness Based on Prepositioned Area Electrofisher Samples, N. Am. J. Fish. Manage., 18, 144–153, 1998. a
Brenner, G. J.: Evidence for the Earliest Stage of Angiosperm Pollen Evolution: A Paleoequatorial Section from Israel, in: Flowering Plant Origin, Evolution & Phylogeny, pp. 91–115, Springer, New York, 1996. a
Chaney, D. S., Sues, H.-D., and DiMichele, W. A.: A Juvenile Skeleton of the Nectridean Amphibian Diplocaulus and Associated Flora and Fauna from the Mitchell Creek Flats Locality (Upper Waggoner Ranch Formation; Early Permian), Baylor County, North-Central Texas, USA, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, Albuquerque, New Mexico, pp. 39–47, 2005. a
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Short summary
Insects have been feeding on plants for over 300 million years. The fossil record preserves evidence of this behavior: it is possible to examine a fossilized leaf and see the spots where insects ate it or laid their eggs in it. The study of these insect traces on leaves shows us how insects have adapted to changing climates. Here, we address the question of how many leaves from a single fossil locality must be examined to permit statistically robust comparisons in deep time.
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