Extinction at the end-Cretaceous and the origin of modern Neotropical rainforests

CARVALHO, MÓNICA R.; JARAMILLO, CARLOS; DE LA PARRA, FELIPE; CABALLERO-RODRÍGUEZ, DAYENARI; HERRERA, FABIANY; WING, SCOTT; TURNER, BENJAMIN L.; D'APOLITO, CARLOS; ROMERO-BÁEZ, MILLERLANDY; NARVÁEZ, PAULA; MARTÍNEZ, CAMILA; GUTIERREZ, MAURICIO; LABANDEIRA, CONRAD; BAYONA, GERMAN; RUEDA, MILTON; PAEZ-REYES, MANUEL; CÁRDENAS, DAIRON; DUQUE, ÁLVARO; CROWLEY, JAMES L.; SANTOS, CARLOS; SILVESTRO, DANIELE

SCIENCE

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

Año: 2021 vol. 372 p. 63 - 68

0036-8075

The end-Cretaceous event was catastrophic for terrestrial communities worldwide, yet its long-lasting effect on tropical forests remains largely unknown. We quantified plant extinction and ecological change in tropical forests resulting from the end-Cretaceous event using fossil pollen (>50,000 occurrences) and leaves (>6000 specimens) from localities in Colombia. Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) rainforests were characterized by an open canopy and diverse plant-insect interactions. Plant diversity declined by 45% at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and did not recover for ~6 million years. Paleocene forests resembled modern Neotropical rainforests, with a closed canopy and multistratal structure dominated by angiosperms. The end-Cretaceous event triggered a long interval of low plant diversity in the Neotropics and the evolutionary assembly of today´s most diverse terrestrial ecosystem.