Reconstructing the evolution of Eocene ecosystems in southern Eurasia to better understand past mammalian dispersals
Résumé
During early and middle Eocene, the Balkans and Anatolia formed an endemic biogeographic province called Balkanatolia that was separated from mainland Eurasia. This isolation ended around 40 Ma when Asian ungulates dispersed into the province and endemic taxa declined. The paleoenvironments of this biogeographic province remain yet poorly known. The goal of this PhD project is to characterize the flora and the local climate of Balkanatolia (rainfall seasonality, aridity) to better understand what could have favoured these biogeographic changes. The work presented here is twofold. First, we will present an overview of the current knowledge about the Eocene flora of Balkanatolia. This review will include all kind of vegetal structure preserved in the fossil record (pollen, wood, seeds…). Second, we will present preliminary results on pollen assemblages and fossil wood specimens of different Eocene localities in Central Anatolia yielding endemic Balkanatolian taxa (Çamili, Çiçekdaği, Büyükteflek, Bultu-Zile, Yeni-Çeltek and Eski-Çeltek). Through a taxonomical identification, these palynological results will draw a first reconstruction of forested assemblages before the arrival of Asia-derived mammal fauna. These paleobotanical results will be compared and interpreted with contemporary geochemical proxies and paleontological data to highlight the environmental evolution through the development and demise of Balkanatolia.
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