Vegetation Function Network supported by Australian Research Council and Landcare Research NZ
1. Leaves: size, shape, economics, palaeobiology and evolutionary radiations
First meeting was held 17-20 May 2005; second meeting 21-24 March 2006

PARTICIPANTS
Peter Wilf - Pennsylvania State University, palaeobiology
Dana Royer - Wesleyan University, palaeobiology
Dieter Uhl - Tuebingen, palaeobiology
Adrienne Nicotra - ANU, physiology in different parts of leaves
Lawren Sack - U California, Los Angeles, leaf hydraulics
Ian Wright and Mark Westoby - Macquarie, leaf economics
Tim Brodribb - Tasmania, water relations and vasculature
Austin Mast - Florida State, ecological radiations
Robert Kooyman - independent rainforest ecologist
Darren Crayn - RBGS, systematics including elaeocarps and epacrids
Peter Weston - RBGS, systematics including Proteaceae
Marilyn Ball - ANU, physiology
Michelle Leishman, Macquarie
Chris Lusk - Macquarie, leaf strategies under canopy shade
Ülo Niinemets - U Tartu, plant structure and light interception
Greg Jordan - U Tasmania, palaeobotany, ecology and biogeography
Sarah Richardson - Landcare Research, New Zealand

People attending second meeting in March 2006
Royer, Nicotra, Sack, Wright, Westoby, Mast, Kooyman, Crayn, Leishman, Lusk, Niinemets, Jordan, Richardson

16 May 2005>
21 March 2006>

Following the second meeting of this working group, three main activities are being pursued. It is not planned that this working group will meet again as a single whole group.

1. Methods are being developed for estimating the leaf mass per area (LMA) of fossil leaves. The datasets assembled show two promising methods, one predicting from petiole width together with leaf area (ms led by Dana Royer), and the other predicting from cuticle depth (ms led by Ian Wright).

2. A catalogue is being assembled of substantial phylogenetic divergences for leaf size during the evolution of the Australian flora (work led by Austin Mast, Darren Crayn and Peter Weston, with support from Rachael Gallagher at Network HQ)..

3. We are gathering together existing leaf size databases into a global database exceeding 10K species. This will be driven by a new working group 25, World leaf size patterns.

There is also a possibility for developing a research proposal targeted at understanding the physiology of leaf teeth.