Decoupled Temporal Patterns of Evolution and Ecology in Two Post-Paleozoic Clades

Counts of taxonomic diversity are the prevailing standards for documenting large-scale patterns of evolution in the fossil record. However, the secular pattern of relative ecological importance between the bryozoan clades Cyclostomata and Cheilostomata is not reflected fully in compilations of gener...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1998-08, Vol.281 (5378), p.807-809
Main Authors: McKinney, Frank K., Lidgard, Scott, Sepkoski, J. John, Taylor, Paul D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Evolution
Biological taxonomies
Biology
Bryozoa
Bryozoa - classification
Bryozoa - physiology
Bryozoans
Cheilostomata
Cyclostomata
Danian age
Earth (Planet)
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecological genetics
Ecology
Ecosystem
Evolution
Exact sciences and technology
Fossils
Geological time
Geology
Geosciences (General)
Identification and classification
Invertebrate paleontology
Marine
Marine Biology
Marine ecology
Origin
Paleobiology
Paleontology
Phenetics
Space life sciences
Species
Species diversity
Species extinction
Taxonomy (Biology)
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Summary:Counts of taxonomic diversity are the prevailing standards for documenting large-scale patterns of evolution in the fossil record. However, the secular pattern of relative ecological importance between the bryozoan clades Cyclostomata and Cheilostomata is not reflected fully in compilations of generic diversity or within-fauna species richness, and the delayed ecological recovery of the Cheilostomata after the mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is missed entirely. These observations demonstrate that evolutionary success and ecological dominance can be decoupled and profoundly different, even over tens of millions of years.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.281.5378.807