1
|
Serra F, Balseiro D, Monnet C, Randolfe E, Bignon A, Rustán JJ, Bault V, Muñoz DF, Vaccari NE, Martinetto M, Crônier C, Waisfeld BG. A dynamic and collaborative database for morphogeometric information of trilobites. Sci Data 2023; 10:841. [PMID: 38030629 PMCID: PMC10687081 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02724-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern morphometric-based approaches provide valuable metrics to quantify and understand macroevolutionary and macroecological patterns and processes. Here we describe TriloMorph, an openly accessible database for morpho-geometric information of trilobites, together with a landmark acquisition protocol. In addition to morphological traits, the database contains contextual data on chronostratigraphic age, geographic location, taxonomic information and lithology of landmarked specimens. In this first version, the dataset has broad taxonomic and temporal coverage and comprises more than 55% of all trilobite genera and 85% of families recorded in the Paleobiology Database through the Devonian. We provide a release of geometric morphometric data of 277 specimens linked to published references. Additionally, we established a Github repository for constant input of morphometric data by multiple contributors and present R functions that help with data retrieval and analysis. This is the first attempt of an online, dynamic and collaborative morphometric repository. By bringing this information into a single open database we enhance the possibility of performing global palaeobiological research, providing a major complement to current occurrence-based databases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Serra
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Diego Balseiro
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Claude Monnet
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Enrique Randolfe
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Arnaud Bignon
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Juan J Rustán
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Valentin Bault
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Diego F Muñoz
- IIMYC (Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras), CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina
- IGCyC (Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CIC PBA, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - N Emilio Vaccari
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Malena Martinetto
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Catherine Crônier
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, F-59000, Lille, France.
| | - Beatriz G Waisfeld
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Córdoba, Argentina.
- CICTERRA (Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra), CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
Paleontology has provided invaluable basic knowledge on the history of life on Earth. The discipline can also provide substantial knowledge to societal challenges such as climate change. The long-term perspective of climate change impacts on natural systems is both a unique selling point and a major obstacle to becoming more pertinent for policy-relevant bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Repeated experiments on the impacts of climate change without anthropogenic disturbance facilitate the extraction of climate triggers in biodiversity changes. At the same time, the long timescales over which paleontological changes are usually assessed are beyond the scope of policymakers. Based on first-hand experience with the IPCC and a quantitative analysis of its cited literature, we argue that the differences in temporal scope are less of an issue than inappropriate framing and reporting of most paleontological publications. Accepting that some obstacles will remain, paleontology can quickly improve its relevance by targeting climate change impacts more directly and focusing on effect sizes and relevance for projections, particularly on higher-end climate change scenarios.
Collapse
|
3
|
Sperling EA, Boag TH, Duncan MI, Endriga CR, Marquez JA, Mills DB, Monarrez PM, Sclafani JA, Stockey RG, Payne JL. Breathless through Time: Oxygen and Animals across Earth's History. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2022; 243:184-206. [PMID: 36548971 DOI: 10.1086/721754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
AbstractOxygen levels in the atmosphere and ocean have changed dramatically over Earth history, with major impacts on marine life. Because the early part of Earth's history lacked both atmospheric oxygen and animals, a persistent co-evolutionary narrative has developed linking oxygen change with changes in animal diversity. Although it was long believed that oxygen rose to essentially modern levels around the Cambrian period, a more muted increase is now believed likely. Thus, if oxygen increase facilitated the Cambrian explosion, it did so by crossing critical ecological thresholds at low O2. Atmospheric oxygen likely remained at low or moderate levels through the early Paleozoic era, and this likely contributed to high metazoan extinction rates until oxygen finally rose to modern levels in the later Paleozoic. After this point, ocean deoxygenation (and marine mass extinctions) is increasingly linked to large igneous province eruptions-massive volcanic carbon inputs to the Earth system that caused global warming, ocean acidification, and oxygen loss. Although the timescales of these ancient events limit their utility as exact analogs for modern anthropogenic global change, the clear message from the geologic record is that large and rapid CO2 injections into the Earth system consistently cause the same deadly trio of stressors that are observed today. The next frontier in understanding the impact of oxygen changes (or, more broadly, temperature-dependent hypoxia) in deep time requires approaches from ecophysiology that will help conservation biologists better calibrate the response of the biosphere at large taxonomic, spatial, and temporal scales.
Collapse
|
4
|
Turvey ST, Saupe EE. Insights from the past: unique opportunity or foreign country? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190208. [PMID: 31679483 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel T Turvey
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Erin E Saupe
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
| |
Collapse
|