A paleobiologic perspective on plant-insect interactions.

Fossil plant-insect associations (PIAs) such as herbivory and pollination have become increasingly relevant to paleobiology and biology. Researchers studying fossil PIAs now employ procedures for assuring unbiased representation of field specimens, use of varied analytical quantitative techniques, and address ecological and evolutionarily important issues. For herbivory, the major developments are: Late Silurian-Middle Devonian (ca. 420-385Ma) origin of herbivory; Late Pennsylvanian (318-299Ma) expansion of herbivory; Permian (299-252Ma) herbivore colonization of new habitats; consequences of the end-Permian (252Ma) global crisis; early Mesozoic (ca. 235-215Ma) rediversification of plants and herbivores; end-Cretaceous (66.5Ma) effects on extinction; and biological effects of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (55.8Ma). For pollination, salient issues include: Permian pollination evidence; the plant hosts of mid-Mesozoic (ca. 160-110Ma) long-proboscid pollinators; and effect of the angiosperm revolution (ca. 125-90Ma) on earlier pollinator relationships. Multispecies interaction studies, such as contrasting damage types with insect diversity and establishing robust food webs, expand the compass and relevance of past PIAs.