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On the expected distribution of species' ranges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Carl F. Koch  and
John P. Morgan
Carl F. Koch
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529
John P. Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529
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Abstract

A method is provided to calculate the expected distribution of species' ranges for use as a basis of comparison for paleontological interpretation of species' range charts. If the method is used for such studies, the possibility of suggesting an environmental or biological cause for observed patterns, when in fact no such cause exists, will be diminished. The method is applied to a large, well-studied fossil data set to illustrate some possible species' range patterns which result only from sample size inequities. As examples, stepwise extinction and species richness patterns are predicted for situations where, in reality, none exist.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , Spring 1988 , pp. 126 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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