Bruce Tiffney

I address the evolutionary biology and systematics of land plants through the study of their morphology, anatomy and biogeographic distribution in the fossil record. My particular area of specialization is the evolution of angiosperms as discerned by their fossil fruits and seeds. I have worked with fossils from northern Africa, eastern North America, the Rockies, and the auriferous gravels of California. Comparative study of these fossils, coupled with previously published material, allows the reconstruction of patterns of evolution within lineages. Additionally, study of the historical distribution of lineages, coupled with changes in climate and continental positions, permits the creation and testing of hypotheses about the biogeographic origin of the modern flora of the Northern Hemisphere. Other areas of research interest include the evolution of dispersal syndromes, the interactions of land plants and vertebrate herbivores through time, and the patterns and presumed mechanisms by which plants influence ecosystem evolution.