Questions for Further Thought

1. How could the fact that the Buffalo Canyon flora grew around a lake influence the way one might interpret climatic conditions with both the Nearest Living Relative approach and leaf margin analysis performed in this lab?
2. How would you address the apparent discrepancy between the climatic preferences of extant Quercus chrysolepis and Zelkova? What about the not insignificant proportion of conifers in the Buffalo Canyon flora?
3. What overall trend do you observe through time in Western North America based on the floras you have to work with in this lab?
4. Is there a role of geography in this pattern? Consult the map in 3003 VLSB. The location of each fossil flora is marked with a small flag.

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