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Does evolutionary relatedness predict ecological similarity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2020

Judith A. Sclafani Open the ORCID record for Judith A. Sclafani [Opens in a new window] ,
Curtis R. Congreve  and
Mark E. Patzkowsky
Judith A. Sclafani
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania16802, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Curtis R. Congreve
Affiliation:
North Carolina State University, Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina28713, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected]
Mark E. Patzkowsky
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania16802, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
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Abstract

A fundamental question in paleobiology is whether ecology is correlated with evolutionary history. By combining time-calibrated phylogenetic trees with genus occurrence data through time, we can understand how environmental preferences are distributed on a tree and evaluate support for models of ecological similarity. Exploring parameters that lend support to each evolutionary model will help address questions that lie at the nexus of the evolutionary and ecological sciences. We calculated ecological difference and phylogenetic distance between species pairs for 83 taxa used in recent phylogenetic revisions of the brachiopod order Strophomenida. Ecological difference was calculated as the pairwise distance along gradients of water depth, carbonate, and latitudinal affinity. Phylogenetic distance was calculated as the pairwise branch length between tips of the tree. Our results show no relationship between ecological affinity and phylogeny. Instead results suggest an ecological burst during the initial radiation of the clade. This pattern likely reflects scaling at the largest macroevolutionary and macroecological scales preserved in the fossil record. Hierarchical scaling of ecological and evolutionary processes is complex, but phylogenetic paleoecology is an avenue for better evaluating these questions.

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Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 47 , Special Issue 2: Phylogenetic Paleoecology , March 2021 , pp. 284 - 300
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Paleontological Society

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Footnotes

Data available from the Dryad Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x95x69pfz

References

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