Statistical independence of escalatory ecological trends in Phanerozoic marine invertebrates

Joshua S. Madin*, John Alroy, Martin Aberhan, Franz T. Fürsich, Wolfgang Kiessling, Matthew A. Kosnik, Peter J. Wagner

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ecological interactions, such as predation and bioturbation, are thought to be fundamental determinants of macroevolutionary trends. A data set containing global occurrences of Phanerozoic fossils of benthic marine invertebrates shows escalatory trends in the relative frequency of ecological groups, such as carnivores and noncarnivorous infaunal or mobile organisms. Associations between these trends are either statistically insignificant or interpretable as preservational effects. Thus, there is no evidence that escalation drives macroecological trends at global and million-year time scales. We also find that taxonomic richness and occurrence data are cross-correlated, which justifies the traditional use of one as a proxy of the other.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)897-900
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume312
Issue number5775
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 May 2006
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Statistical independence of escalatory ecological trends in Phanerozoic marine invertebrates'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this