Monday, September 17, 2007

Oh Goodness! Those C4 Plants!

ComBio special: C4 plants and the evolutionary explosion
Did the evolution of C4 photosynthesis pathways in grasses helped kick-start modern human evolution as well?

Around 2.5 million years ago, global climate entered a marked drying phase that drove a major expansion of east Africa's fire-adapted savannah woodlands, forcing the region's ancient rainforests into retreat.

Canadian botanist Professor Rowan Sage, of the University of Toronto, believes it is no coincidence that Homo habilis, the first card-carrying, tool-making ancestor of modern humans, appears in the fossil record at the same time.

Like their Australian and Asian analogues, the mosaic of tall grasses, shrubs and sparse woodlands of the African savannah teems with wildlife and proffers a rich, seasonally predictable smorgasbord of food plants.


An interesting read.

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