Lecture 32: Fossil Diversity

Question 1

What were the drivers of changes in diversity?

Answer 1

• CO2
• Temperature
• Glaciation

Question 2

What is known about the patterns of diversity in the fossil record?

Answer 2

• Analyzed geological layers and quantified when they first appeared, how long they lives, and when they went away
• Cambrian, Paleozoic, and modern faunas represent three major assemblages of marine organisms

Question 3

O = Originations

Answer 3

• count the number of new taxa

- # new taxa/existing taxon/time

Question 4

What was Benton’s analysis and what does it suggest?

Answer 4

• Suggests that the long-linear pattern suggests exponential increase in diversity.
• No growth model

Question 5

What doe ecological release in the fossil record refer to?

Answer 5

Did the extinction of the dinosaurs provide an “ecological release” for the diversification of mammals?

• Mammalian diversity jumps after extinction of dinosaurs

Question 6

What does the possible phylogenetic pattern of adaptive radiation look like?

Answer 6

• early branches are short

- later branches are long

Question 7

Biotic Replacement

Answer 7

Temporal patterns of decline or increase in diversity can refute a competition argument.