Chris Doughty

It was. It was. Yes. Yeah.

It was. It was. Yes. Yeah.

It was. It was. Yes. Yeah.

Yes. At one point, all the seed sizes were getting bigger. And then about 35 million years ago, these seed sizes started getting smaller. And it was a big mystery as to, you know, what's driving this? You know, and what our model explained was that it was actually the evolution of these really large mammals now.

Yes. At one point, all the seed sizes were getting bigger. And then about 35 million years ago, these seed sizes started getting smaller. And it was a big mystery as to, you know, what's driving this? You know, and what our model explained was that it was actually the evolution of these really large mammals now.

Yes. At one point, all the seed sizes were getting bigger. And then about 35 million years ago, these seed sizes started getting smaller. And it was a big mystery as to, you know, what's driving this? You know, and what our model explained was that it was actually the evolution of these really large mammals now.

You had all sorts of weird-looking mammal groups that grew enormous that are some of the relatives of what we see now out on the African savanna. They'd get really big, and then they'd start opening up these understories as well. Those big seeds were no longer way better than the small seeds. The seed size started to decrease.

You had all sorts of weird-looking mammal groups that grew enormous that are some of the relatives of what we see now out on the African savanna. They'd get really big, and then they'd start opening up these understories as well. Those big seeds were no longer way better than the small seeds. The seed size started to decrease.

You had all sorts of weird-looking mammal groups that grew enormous that are some of the relatives of what we see now out on the African savanna. They'd get really big, and then they'd start opening up these understories as well. Those big seeds were no longer way better than the small seeds. The seed size started to decrease.

That's right. So that's another really interesting extinction event. Because it overlaps with us. So this is commonly referred to as the sixth extinction. There is a lot of tree species that co-evolved with these big animals to have them move their seeds around. So think of the avocado, think of chocolate, two of our favorite plant species.

That's right. So that's another really interesting extinction event. Because it overlaps with us. So this is commonly referred to as the sixth extinction. There is a lot of tree species that co-evolved with these big animals to have them move their seeds around. So think of the avocado, think of chocolate, two of our favorite plant species.

That's right. So that's another really interesting extinction event. Because it overlaps with us. So this is commonly referred to as the sixth extinction. There is a lot of tree species that co-evolved with these big animals to have them move their seeds around. So think of the avocado, think of chocolate, two of our favorite plant species.

Those co-evolved with these now extinct South American elephants. So that's why you kind of see this increase in seed size over time more recently.

Those co-evolved with these now extinct South American elephants. So that's why you kind of see this increase in seed size over time more recently.

Those co-evolved with these now extinct South American elephants. So that's why you kind of see this increase in seed size over time more recently.

That's right. Yeah. So, you know, I'm really interested in trying to predict the future with some of these models, not just thinking about the past. And so, you know, one of the fun things we did in this paper was say, all right, we went through another mass extinction recently of these really large, important animals. What do we predict for future seed size?

That's right. Yeah. So, you know, I'm really interested in trying to predict the future with some of these models, not just thinking about the past. And so, you know, one of the fun things we did in this paper was say, all right, we went through another mass extinction recently of these really large, important animals. What do we predict for future seed size?

That's right. Yeah. So, you know, I'm really interested in trying to predict the future with some of these models, not just thinking about the past. And so, you know, one of the fun things we did in this paper was say, all right, we went through another mass extinction recently of these really large, important animals. What do we predict for future seed size?

And without these large mammals like the gomp, the fears, mammoths, giant ground sloths, these forest understories are a lot darker. And so our model would say, okay, well, it's dark. The seeds want to grow bigger again. But the interesting thing was we couldn't actually say that because there's another enormous ecosystem engineer that is dominant on the planet now, which is us. Oh.

And without these large mammals like the gomp, the fears, mammoths, giant ground sloths, these forest understories are a lot darker. And so our model would say, okay, well, it's dark. The seeds want to grow bigger again. But the interesting thing was we couldn't actually say that because there's another enormous ecosystem engineer that is dominant on the planet now, which is us. Oh.