Strong coupling of predation intensity and diversity in the Phanerozoic fossil record

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0704960104
• Publication Date: 2007-09-14T00:54:01Z
• Authors: John Warren Huntley; Michał Kowalewski
• Keywords: Paleoecology; Macroevolution; Spurious relationship

The importance of ecological interactions in driving the evolution animals has been focus intense debate among paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, and macroecologists. To test whether intensity such covaries with secular trend global biodiversity, we compiled a species-level database predation intensity, as measured by frequency common traces (drillings repair scars ranging age from Ediacaran to Holocene). results indicate that increased notably Ordovician, not mid-Paleozoic suggested multiple previous studies. Importantly, these estimates diversity marine metazoans correlate throughout Phanerozoic fossil record regardless corrections methods applied. This concordance may represent (i) an signal: long-term coupling predation; (ii) diversity-driven diffusion predatory behaviors: probability more complex strategies appear at higher levels; or (iii) spurious signal capture: artifact where rare species less-frequent (e.g., trace-producing) behaviors are both detectable times when sampling improves. records suggests macroevolutionary macroecological patterns share causative mechanisms reflect either historical processes artifacts.