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Duran-Nebreda S, Bentley RA, Vidiella B, Spiridonov A, Eldredge N, O'Brien MJ, Valverde S. On the multiscale dynamics of punctuated evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2024:S0169-5347(24)00114-9. [PMID: 38821781 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
For five decades, paleontologists, paleobiologists, and ecologists have investigated patterns of punctuated equilibria in biology. Here, we step outside those fields and summarize recent advances in the theory of and evidence for punctuated equilibria, gathered from contemporary observations in geology, molecular biology, genetics, anthropology, and sociotechnology. Taken in the aggregate, these observations lead to a more general theory that we refer to as punctuated evolution. The quality of recent datasets is beginning to illustrate the mechanics of punctuated evolution in a way that can be modeled across a vast range of phenomena, from mass extinctions hundreds of millions of years ago to the possible future ahead in the Anthropocene. We expect the study of punctuated evolution to be applicable beyond biological scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salva Duran-Nebreda
- Evolution of Networks Lab, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37 49, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - R Alexander Bentley
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Blai Vidiella
- Evolution of Networks Lab, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37 49, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Andrej Spiridonov
- Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Niles Eldredge
- The American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Michael J O'Brien
- Department of History, Philosophy, and Geography and Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78224, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65205, USA.
| | - Sergi Valverde
- Evolution of Networks Lab, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37 49, Barcelona 08003, Spain; European Centre for Living Technology, Ca' Bottacin, Dorsoduro 3911, 30123 Venice, Italy.
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Enquist BJ, Erwin D, Savage V, Marquet PA. Scaling approaches and macroecology provide a foundation for assessing ecological resilience in the Anthropocene. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230010. [PMID: 38583479 PMCID: PMC10999275 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
In the Anthropocene, intensifying ecological disturbances pose significant challenges to our predictive capabilities for ecosystem responses. Macroecology-which focuses on emergent statistical patterns in ecological systems-unveils consistent regularities in the organization of biodiversity and ecosystems. These regularities appear in terms of abundance, body size, geographical range, species interaction networks, or the flux of matter and energy. This paper argues for moving beyond qualitative resilience metaphors, such as the 'ball and cup', towards a more quantitative macroecological framework. We suggest a conceptual and theoretical basis for ecological resilience that integrates macroecology with a stochastic diffusion approximation constrained by principles of biological symmetry. This approach provides an alternative novel framework for studying ecological resilience in the Anthropocene. We demonstrate how our framework can effectively quantify the impacts of major disturbances and their extensive ecological ramifications. We further show how biological scaling insights can help quantify the consequences of major disturbances, emphasizing their cascading ecological impacts. The nature of these impacts prompts a re-evaluation of our understanding of resilience. Emphasis on regularities of ecological assemblages can help illuminate resilience dynamics and offer a novel basis to predict and manage the impacts of disturbance in the Anthropocene more efficiently. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J. Enquist
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Arizona, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Doug Erwin
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, MRC-121, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
| | - Van Savage
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Department of Computational Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Pablo A. Marquet
- The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Valparaíso (ISCV), CP 2340000 Valparaíso, Chile
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciemcias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, CP 8331150, Santiago, Chile
- Centro de Modelamiento Matemático (CMM), Universidad de Chile, International Research Laboratory, 2807, CNRS, CP 8370456 Santiago, Chile
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Knowledge Gaps and Missing Links in Understanding Mass Extinctions: Can Mathematical Modeling Help? Phys Life Rev 2022; 41:22-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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