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Brodie JF, Mannion PD. The hierarchy of factors predicting the latitudinal diversity gradient. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:15-23. [PMID: 36089412 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.07.013] [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: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The numerous explanations for why Earth's biodiversity is concentrated at low latitudes fail to explain variation in the strength and even direction of the gradient through deep time. Consequently, we do not know if today's gradient is representative of what might be expected on other planets or is merely an idiosyncrasy of Earth's history. We propose a hierarchy of factors driving the latitudinal distribution of diversity: (i) over geologically long time spans, diversity is largely predicted by climate; (ii) when climatic gradients are shallow, diversity tracks habitat area; and (iii) historical contingencies linked to niche conservatism have geologically short-term, transient influence at most. Thus, latitudinal diversity gradients, although variable in strength and direction, are largely predictable on our planet and possibly others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jedediah F Brodie
- Division of Biological Sciences & Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA; Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94 300 Kota Samarahan, Malaysia.
| | - Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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2
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Late quaternary biotic homogenization of North American mammalian faunas. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3940. [PMID: 35803946 PMCID: PMC9270452 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31595-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Biotic homogenization—increasing similarity of species composition among ecological communities—has been linked to anthropogenic processes operating over the last century. Fossil evidence, however, suggests that humans have had impacts on ecosystems for millennia. We quantify biotic homogenization of North American mammalian assemblages during the late Pleistocene through Holocene (~30,000 ybp to recent), a timespan encompassing increased evidence of humans on the landscape (~20,000–14,000 ybp). From ~10,000 ybp to recent, assemblages became significantly more homogenous (>100% increase in Jaccard similarity), a pattern that cannot be explained by changes in fossil record sampling. Homogenization was most pronounced among mammals larger than 1 kg and occurred in two phases. The first followed the megafaunal extinction at ~10,000 ybp. The second, more rapid phase began during human population growth and early agricultural intensification (~2,000–1,000 ybp). We show that North American ecosystems were homogenizing for millennia, extending human impacts back ~10,000 years. Biotic homogenization, which is increased similarity in the composition of species among communities, is rising due to human activities. Using North American mammal fossil records from the past 30,000 years, this study shows that this phenomenon is ancient, beginning between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago with the extinction of the mammal megafauna.
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Fraser D, Kim SL, Welker JM, Clementz MT. Pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana) enamel phosphate δ 18O values reflect climate seasonality: Implications for paleoclimate reconstruction. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17005-17021. [PMID: 34938488 PMCID: PMC8668790 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) compositions from vertebrate tooth enamel are widely used as biogeochemical proxies for paleoclimate. However, the utility of enamel oxygen isotope values for environmental reconstruction varies among species. Herein, we evaluate the use of stable oxygen isotope compositions from pronghorn (Antilocapra americana Gray, 1866) enamel for reconstructing paleoclimate seasonality, an elusive but important parameter for understanding past ecosystems. We serially sampled the lower third molars of recent adult pronghorn from Wyoming for δ18O in phosphate (δ18OPO4) and compared patterns to interpolated and measured yearly variation in environmental waters as well as from sagebrush leaves, lakes, and rivers (δ18Ow). As expected, the oxygen isotope compositions of phosphate from pronghorn enamel are enriched in 18O relative to environmental waters. For a more direct comparison, we converted δ18Ow values into expected δ18OPO4* values (δ18OW-PO4*). Pronghorn δ18OPO4 values from tooth enamel record nearly the full amplitude of seasonal variation from Wyoming δ18OW-PO4* values. Furthermore, pronghorn enamel δ18OPO4 values are more similar to modeled δ18OW-PO4* values from plant leaf waters than meteoric waters, suggesting that they obtain much of their water from evaporated plant waters. Collectively, our findings establish that seasonality in source water is reliably reflected in pronghorn enamel, providing the basis for exploring changes in the amplitude of seasonality of ancient climates. As a preliminary test, we sampled historical pronghorn specimens (1720 ± 100 AD), which show a mean decrease (a shift to lower values) of 1-2‰ in δ18OPO4 compared to the modern specimens. They also exhibit an increase in the δ18O amplitude, representing an increase in seasonality. We suggest that the cooler mean annual and summer temperatures typical of the 18th century, as well as enhanced periods of drought, drove differences among the modern and historical pronghorn, further establishing pronghorn enamel as excellent sources of paleoclimate proxy data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Fraser
- PalaeobiologyCanadian Museum of NatureOttawaONCanada
- Department of BiologyCarleton UniversityOttawaONCanada
- Department of Earth SciencesCarleton UniversityOttawaONCanada
- Department of PaleobiologySmithsonian InstitutionNational Museum of Natural HistoryWashingtonDistrict of ColumbiaUSA
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Sora L. Kim
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
- Department of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaMercedCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jeffrey M. Welker
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Alaska AnchorageAnchorageAlaskaUSA
- Department of Ecology and GeneticsUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- UArcticOuluFinland
| | - Mark T. Clementz
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
- Program in EcologyUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
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Darroch SAF, Fraser D, Casey MM. The preservation potential of terrestrial biogeographic patterns. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202927. [PMID: 33622123 PMCID: PMC7935024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Extinction events in the geological past are similar to the present-day biodiversity crisis in that they have a pronounced biogeography, producing dramatic changes in the spatial distributions of species. Reconstructing palaeobiogeographic patterns from fossils therefore allows us to examine the long-term processes governing the formation of regional biotas, and potentially helps build spatially explicit models for future biodiversity loss. However, the extent to which biogeographic patterns can be preserved in the fossil record is not well understood. Here, we perform a suite of simulations based on the present-day distribution of North American mammals, aimed at quantifying the preservation potential of beta diversity and spatial richness patterns over extinction events of varying intensities, and after applying a stepped series of taphonomic filters. We show that taphonomic biases related to body size are the biggest barrier to reconstructing biogeographic patterns over extinction events, but that these may be compensated for by both the small mammal record preserved in bird castings, as well as range expansion in surviving species. Overall, our results suggest that the preservation potential of biogeographic patterns is surprisingly high, and thus that the fossil record represents an invaluable dataset recording the changing spatial distribution of biota over key intervals in Earth History.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon A F Darroch
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 5726 Stevenson Center, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.,Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Frankfurt 60325, Germany
| | - Danielle Fraser
- Department of Palaeobiology, Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 2R1.,Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.,Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.,Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and Constitution NW, Washington, DC 20560-0121, USA
| | - Michelle M Casey
- Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252, USA
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Jones LA, Dean CD, Mannion PD, Farnsworth A, Allison PA. Spatial sampling heterogeneity limits the detectability of deep time latitudinal biodiversity gradients. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202762. [PMID: 33622126 PMCID: PMC7934898 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG), in which species richness decreases from tropical to polar regions, is a pervasive pattern of the modern biosphere. Although the distribution of fossil occurrences suggests this pattern has varied through deep time, the recognition of palaeobiogeographic patterns is hampered by geological and anthropogenic biases. In particular, spatial sampling heterogeneity has the capacity to impact upon the reconstruction of deep time LBGs. Here we use a simulation framework to test the detectability of three different types of LBG (flat, unimodal and bimodal) over the last 300 Myr. We show that heterogeneity in spatial sampling significantly impacts upon the detectability of genuine LBGs, with known biodiversity patterns regularly obscured after applying the spatial sampling window of fossil collections. Sampling-standardization aids the reconstruction of relative biodiversity gradients, but cannot account for artefactual absences introduced by geological and anthropogenic biases. Therefore, we argue that some previous studies might have failed to recover the ‘true’ LBG type owing to incomplete and heterogeneous sampling, particularly between 200 and 20 Ma. Furthermore, these issues also have the potential to bias global estimates of past biodiversity, as well as inhibit the recognition of extinction and radiation events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewis A Jones
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Christopher D Dean
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | | | - Peter A Allison
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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A deep-time perspective on the latitudinal diversity gradient. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:17479-17481. [PMID: 32669439 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2011997117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Abstract
AbstractHuman-mediated species invasion and climate change are leading to global extinctions and are predicted to result in the loss of important axes of phylogenetic and functional diversity. However, the long-term robustness of modern communities to invasion is unknown, given the limited timescales over which they can be studied. Using the fossil record of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM; ∼56 Ma) in North America, we evaluate mammalian community-level response to a rapid global warming event (5°-8°C) and invasion by three Eurasian mammalian orders and by species undergoing northward range shifts. We assembled a database of 144 species body sizes and created a time-scaled composite phylogeny. We calculated the phylogenetic and functional diversity of all communities before, during, and after the PETM. Despite increases in the phylogenetic diversity of the regional species pool, phylogenetic diversity of mammalian communities remained relatively unchanged, a pattern that is invariant to the tree dating method, uncertainty in tree topology, and resolution. Similarly, body size dispersion and the degree of spatial taxonomic turnover of communities remained similar across the PETM. We suggest that invasion by new taxa had little impact on Paleocene-Eocene mammal communities because niches were not saturated. Our findings are consistent with the numerous studies of modern communities that record little change in community-scale richness despite turnover in taxonomic composition during invasion. What remains unknown is whether long-term robustness to biotic and abiotic perturbation are retained by modern communities given global anthropogenic landscape modification.
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Allen BJ, Wignall PB, Hill DJ, Saupe EE, Dunhill AM. The latitudinal diversity gradient of tetrapods across the Permo-Triassic mass extinction and recovery interval. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201125. [PMID: 32546099 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The decline in species richness from the equator to the poles is referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG). Higher equatorial diversity has been recognized for over 200 years, but the consistency of this pattern in deep time remains uncertain. Examination of spatial biodiversity patterns in the past across different global climate regimes and continental configurations can reveal how LDGs have varied over Earth history and potentially differentiate between suggested causal mechanisms. The Late Permian-Middle Triassic represents an ideal time interval for study, because it is characterized by large-scale volcanic episodes, extreme greenhouse temperatures and the most severe mass extinction event in Earth history. We examined terrestrial and marine tetrapod spatial biodiversity patterns using a database of global tetrapod occurrences. Terrestrial tetrapods exhibit a bimodal richness distribution throughout the Late Permian-Middle Triassic, with peaks in the northern low latitudes and southern mid-latitudes around 20-40° N and 60° S, respectively. Marine reptile fossils are known almost exclusively from the Northern Hemisphere in the Early and Middle Triassic, with highest diversity around 20° N. Reconstructed terrestrial LDGs contrast strongly with the generally unimodal gradients of today, potentially reflecting high global temperatures and prevailing Pangaean super-monsoonal climate system during the Permo-Triassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethany J Allen
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Paul B Wignall
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Daniel J Hill
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Erin E Saupe
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Latitude- and climate-associated patterns in small mammal fauna changes of the West Yakutia. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF THERIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.18.2.04] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Stevens RD, Rowe RJ, Badgley C. Gradients of mammalian biodiversity through space and time. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Stevens
- Department of Natural Resources Management and Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Rebecca J Rowe
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - Catherine Badgley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Conith AJ, Meagher MA, Dumont ER. The Influence of Climatic Variability on Morphological Integration, Evolutionary Rates, and Disparity in the Carnivora. Am Nat 2018; 191:704-715. [DOI: 10.1086/697376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Tseng ZJ, Flynn JJ. Structure-function covariation with nonfeeding ecological variables influences evolution of feeding specialization in Carnivora. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaao5441. [PMID: 29441363 PMCID: PMC5810607 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao5441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Skull shape convergence is pervasive among vertebrates. Although this is frequently inferred to indicate similar functional underpinnings, neither the specific structure-function linkages nor the selective environments in which the supposed functional adaptations arose are commonly identified and tested. We demonstrate that nonfeeding factors relating to sexual maturity and precipitation-related arboreality also can generate structure-function relationships in the skulls of carnivorans (dogs, cats, seals, and relatives) through covariation with masticatory performance. We estimated measures of masticatory performance related to ecological variables that covary with cranial shape in the mammalian order Carnivora, integrating geometric morphometrics and finite element analyses. Even after accounting for phylogenetic autocorrelation, cranial shapes are significantly correlated to both feeding and nonfeeding ecological variables, and covariation with both variable types generated significant masticatory performance gradients. This suggests that mechanisms of obligate shape covariation with nonfeeding variables can produce performance changes resembling those arising from feeding adaptations in Carnivora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z. Jack Tseng
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - John J. Flynn
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Late Cenozoic onset of the latitudinal diversity gradient of North American mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:7189-94. [PMID: 27298355 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1524750113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The decline of species richness from equator to pole, or latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), is nearly universal among clades of living organisms, yet whether it was such a pervasive pattern in the geologic past remains uncertain. Here, we calculate the strength of the LDG for terrestrial mammals in North America over the past 65 My, using 27,903 fossil occurrences of Cenozoic terrestrial mammals from western North America downloaded from the Paleobiology Database. Accounting for temporal and spatial variation in sampling, the LDG was substantially weaker than it is today for most of the Cenozoic and the robust modern LDG of North American mammals evolved only over the last 4 My. The strength of the LDG correlates negatively with global temperature, suggesting a role of global climate patterns in the establishment and maintenance of the LDG for North American mammals.
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Fraser D, Gorelick R, Rybczynski N. Macroevolution and climate change influence phylogenetic community assembly of North American hoofed mammals. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Fraser
- Department of Biology; Carleton University; 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Canada
- Palaeobiology; Canadian Museum of Nature; PO Box 3443 Stn ‘D’ Ottawa ON K1P 6P4 Canada
| | - Root Gorelick
- Department of Biology; Carleton University; 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Canada
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics; Carleton University; 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Canada
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies; Carleton University; 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Canada
| | - Natalia Rybczynski
- Department of Biology; Carleton University; 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Canada
- Palaeobiology; Canadian Museum of Nature; PO Box 3443 Stn ‘D’ Ottawa ON K1P 6P4 Canada
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