Research Training Program

Claire Obordo
St. Petersburg Junior College
St. Petersburg, Florida

Conrad Labandeira, Ph.D.
Project Advisor
Department of Paleobiology

"The RTP has been one of the best experiences of my life, definitely of my career. The collections are huge and the entire ordeal awesome!"

An Evaluation of Insect-Mediated Herbivory in Early Permian Flora

Traditional thought attributes a direct correlation between insect diversity in the fossil record and the explosive radiation of the angiosperms during the Cretaceous. The fossil record, however, is lacking sufficient documentation of insect and plant interactions. Recent studies of Carboniferous coal-swamp environments suggest the presence of evolutionarily significant interactions between insects and vascular plants. Evaluation of eight Early Permian localities in the north central region of Texas contributes further documentation of insect and plant interactions in the Paleozoic, primarily the presence of primitive feeding guilds as well as advanced feeding patterns. This suggests the importance of continued research regarding evolution of insect/plant associations and herbivory trends through time.

This research was supported by a grant from the James Smithson Society.