The Extinction of Megaherbivores , Affected the Evolution of Plants, , New Study Shows.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the extinction <br />of the dinosaurs may have had a profound <br />impact on the evolution of plant life on Earth. .<br />According to researchers at the German Centre <br />for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), , about 25 million years after the dinosaurs were <br />wiped out, the size of fruit had increased while <br />plants' defensive features regressed. .<br />According to researchers at the German Centre <br />for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), , about 25 million years after the dinosaurs were <br />wiped out, the size of fruit had increased while <br />plants' defensive features regressed. .<br />The iDiv team analyzed fossils and living palms today <br />to trace the evolutionary developments of plants <br />during and after the absence of megaherbivores. .<br />The iDiv team analyzed fossils and living palms today <br />to trace the evolutionary developments of plants <br />during and after the absence of megaherbivores. .<br />The team confirmed that many palm species of <br />that time bore large fruits and were covered with <br />spines and thorns on their trunks and leaves. .<br />We were thus able to refute the previous <br />scientific assumption that the presence <br />of large palm fruits depended <br />exclusively on megaherbivores, Dr. Renske Onstein, Head of the Evolution & Adaptation Group at iDiv and Leipzig University, via 'Newsweek'.<br />We, therefore, assume that the lack <br />of influence of large herbivores led to denser <br />vegetations in which plants with larger seeds <br />and fruits had an evolutionary advantage, Dr. Renske Onstein, Head of the Evolution & Adaptation Group at iDiv and Leipzig University, via 'Newsweek'.<br />However, during the megaherbivore gap, <br />the number of palm species <br />with defensive traits decreased. .<br />Defense traits without predators apparently <br />no longer offered evolutionary advantages. <br />However, they returned in most palm <br />species when new megaherbivores <br />evolved, in contrast to the changes <br />in fruits, which persisted, Dr. Renske Onstein, Head of the Evolution & Adaptation Group at iDiv and Leipzig University, via 'Newsweek'.<br />'Newsweek' reports that understanding how extinction affected plant evolution could help in predicting future ecological adaptations. .<br />The current extinction of species due to hunting and climate change may lead to trait variations in plant communities and ecosystems in the near future.
