Samuel T. Turvey (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535095
- eISBN:
- 9780191715754
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535095.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The extent to which human activity has influenced species extinctions during the recent prehistoric past remains controversial due to other factors such as climatic fluctuations and a general lack of ...
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The extent to which human activity has influenced species extinctions during the recent prehistoric past remains controversial due to other factors such as climatic fluctuations and a general lack of data. However, the Holocene (the geological interval spanning the last 11,500 years from the end of the last glaciation) has witnessed massive levels of extinctions that have continued into the modern historical era, but in a context of only relatively minor climatic fluctuations. This makes a detailed consideration of these extinctions a useful system for investigating the impacts of human activity over time. This book describes and analyses the range of global extinction events which have occurred during this key time period, as well as their relationship to both earlier and ongoing species losses. By integrating information from fields as diverse as zoology, ecology, palaeontology, archaeology, and geography, and by incorporating data from a broad range of taxonomic groups and ecosystems, this text provides a fascinating insight into human impacts on global extinction rates, both past and present.Less
The extent to which human activity has influenced species extinctions during the recent prehistoric past remains controversial due to other factors such as climatic fluctuations and a general lack of data. However, the Holocene (the geological interval spanning the last 11,500 years from the end of the last glaciation) has witnessed massive levels of extinctions that have continued into the modern historical era, but in a context of only relatively minor climatic fluctuations. This makes a detailed consideration of these extinctions a useful system for investigating the impacts of human activity over time. This book describes and analyses the range of global extinction events which have occurred during this key time period, as well as their relationship to both earlier and ongoing species losses. By integrating information from fields as diverse as zoology, ecology, palaeontology, archaeology, and geography, and by incorporating data from a broad range of taxonomic groups and ecosystems, this text provides a fascinating insight into human impacts on global extinction rates, both past and present.
David Sepkoski and Michael Ruse (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748610
- eISBN:
- 9780226748597
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748597.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
Paleontology has long had a troubled relationship with evolutionary biology. Suffering from a reputation as a second-tier science and conjuring images of fossil collectors and amateurs who dig up ...
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Paleontology has long had a troubled relationship with evolutionary biology. Suffering from a reputation as a second-tier science and conjuring images of fossil collectors and amateurs who dig up bones, it was marginalized even by Darwin himself, who worried that incompleteness in the fossil record would be used against his theory of evolution. But with the establishment of the modern synthesis in the 1940s and the pioneering work of George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, as well as the subsequent efforts of Stephen Jay Gould, David Raup, and James Valentine, paleontology became embedded in biology and emerged as paleobiology, a first-rate discipline central to evolutionary studies. This incredible ascendance of this once-maligned science to the vanguard of a field is chronicled in this book. Chapters here aim to capture the excitement of the seismic changes in the discipline.Less
Paleontology has long had a troubled relationship with evolutionary biology. Suffering from a reputation as a second-tier science and conjuring images of fossil collectors and amateurs who dig up bones, it was marginalized even by Darwin himself, who worried that incompleteness in the fossil record would be used against his theory of evolution. But with the establishment of the modern synthesis in the 1940s and the pioneering work of George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, as well as the subsequent efforts of Stephen Jay Gould, David Raup, and James Valentine, paleontology became embedded in biology and emerged as paleobiology, a first-rate discipline central to evolutionary studies. This incredible ascendance of this once-maligned science to the vanguard of a field is chronicled in this book. Chapters here aim to capture the excitement of the seismic changes in the discipline.
Winston Ponder (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520250925
- eISBN:
- 9780520933705
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520250925.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This book brings together thirty-six experts on the evolution of the Mollusca to provide an up-to-date review of its evolutionary history. The Mollusca are the second largest animal phylum and boast ...
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This book brings together thirty-six experts on the evolution of the Mollusca to provide an up-to-date review of its evolutionary history. The Mollusca are the second largest animal phylum and boast a fossil record of over 540 million years. They exhibit remarkable anatomical diversity and include the bivalves (scallops, oysters, and clams), gastropods (limpets, snails, and slugs), and cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and octopus). This study treats each major taxon and supplies general information as well as overviews of evolution and phylogeny using data from different sources—morphological, ultrastructural, molecular, developmental, and from the fossil record.Less
This book brings together thirty-six experts on the evolution of the Mollusca to provide an up-to-date review of its evolutionary history. The Mollusca are the second largest animal phylum and boast a fossil record of over 540 million years. They exhibit remarkable anatomical diversity and include the bivalves (scallops, oysters, and clams), gastropods (limpets, snails, and slugs), and cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and octopus). This study treats each major taxon and supplies general information as well as overviews of evolution and phylogeny using data from different sources—morphological, ultrastructural, molecular, developmental, and from the fossil record.
J. William Schopf
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748610
- eISBN:
- 9780226748597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748597.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter discusses the author's own personal experience in witnessing the growth of Precambrian paleobiology. It relates how the assumptions accepted by early workers influenced the development ...
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This chapter discusses the author's own personal experience in witnessing the growth of Precambrian paleobiology. It relates how the assumptions accepted by early workers influenced the development of this science and how and by whom breakthrough advances were brought to the fore in the mid-1960s. This chapter discusses the pioneering works of John William Dawson, Charles Doolittle Walcott, and Albert Charles Seward. It also narrates the story of the gradual expansion of the fossil record over the past several decades, including the discovery of microfossils dating some 3.5 billion years old.Less
This chapter discusses the author's own personal experience in witnessing the growth of Precambrian paleobiology. It relates how the assumptions accepted by early workers influenced the development of this science and how and by whom breakthrough advances were brought to the fore in the mid-1960s. This chapter discusses the pioneering works of John William Dawson, Charles Doolittle Walcott, and Albert Charles Seward. It also narrates the story of the gradual expansion of the fossil record over the past several decades, including the discovery of microfossils dating some 3.5 billion years old.
Michael J. Benton
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748610
- eISBN:
- 9780226748597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748597.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter examines modern approaches to perhaps the oldest problem in paleontology, specifically the perceived incompleteness of the fossil record. It focuses on the larger-scale patterns that may ...
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This chapter examines modern approaches to perhaps the oldest problem in paleontology, specifically the perceived incompleteness of the fossil record. It focuses on the larger-scale patterns that may be gleaned from the fossil record such as global diversification and mass extinction. This chapter evaluates recent approaches in molecular phylogenetics and statistical tests of paleontological sampling error and suggests that while accurately interpreting the fossil record still presents many challenges, the future prospects for paleobiology are quite good.Less
This chapter examines modern approaches to perhaps the oldest problem in paleontology, specifically the perceived incompleteness of the fossil record. It focuses on the larger-scale patterns that may be gleaned from the fossil record such as global diversification and mass extinction. This chapter evaluates recent approaches in molecular phylogenetics and statistical tests of paleontological sampling error and suggests that while accurately interpreting the fossil record still presents many challenges, the future prospects for paleobiology are quite good.
David Sepkoski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748559
- eISBN:
- 9780226748580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748580.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
Paleontological and geological evidence played significantly important roles in establishing Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which combined descent with modification. The historical evidence of ...
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Paleontological and geological evidence played significantly important roles in establishing Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which combined descent with modification. The historical evidence of the fossil record enabled Darwin to argue for the temporal evolutionary succession of past forms. In the first and successive editions of Origin, Darwin discussed the significance of fossil succession, in this edition it is clearly implied that paleontology formed a major pillar of his argument for evolution. Yet in what appears in retrospect a profound irony, even as Darwin elevated the significance of the evidentiary contribution of fossils, he also had a major hand in condemning paleontology. One of his greatest anxieties was that the “incompleteness” of the fossil record would be used to criticize his theory: that the apparent “gaps” in fossil succession could be cited as negative evidence, at the very least, for his proposal that all organisms have descended by minute and gradual modifications from a common ancestor. Darwin worried that at worst the record's imperfection would be used to argue for the kind of spontaneous, “special” creation of organic forms promoted by theologically-oriented naturalists whose theories he hoped to obviate.Less
Paleontological and geological evidence played significantly important roles in establishing Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which combined descent with modification. The historical evidence of the fossil record enabled Darwin to argue for the temporal evolutionary succession of past forms. In the first and successive editions of Origin, Darwin discussed the significance of fossil succession, in this edition it is clearly implied that paleontology formed a major pillar of his argument for evolution. Yet in what appears in retrospect a profound irony, even as Darwin elevated the significance of the evidentiary contribution of fossils, he also had a major hand in condemning paleontology. One of his greatest anxieties was that the “incompleteness” of the fossil record would be used to criticize his theory: that the apparent “gaps” in fossil succession could be cited as negative evidence, at the very least, for his proposal that all organisms have descended by minute and gradual modifications from a common ancestor. Darwin worried that at worst the record's imperfection would be used to argue for the kind of spontaneous, “special” creation of organic forms promoted by theologically-oriented naturalists whose theories he hoped to obviate.
David Sepkoski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748559
- eISBN:
- 9780226748580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748580.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter explores the taxic approach as a dominant perspective in paleobiology, and its contribution to the solidification of what came to be known as the Chicago School of analytical ...
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This chapter explores the taxic approach as a dominant perspective in paleobiology, and its contribution to the solidification of what came to be known as the Chicago School of analytical paleontology. It also represented the culmination of a long tradition in paleobiology—of drawing statistical interpretations of patterns in the history of life from an otherwise imperfect fossil record. This approach, in many ways, represents the paleobiological tradition in the second half of the twentieth century. The term “taxic paleontology” is defined as follows: “Paleontologists have always had the option of looking at the fossil record, in either or both of two ways—first, distributions in space and time of discrete taxa, which differ among themselves to a greater or lesser extent, and second, distributions in space and time of different states of morphological character assumed to be evolving.” Punctuated equilibria and the MBL model helped prepare the path for a taxic view. In each case, species are considered to be discrete entities with clearly demarcated births and deaths. This was not, however, the essence of taxic paleobiology. The taxic approach is also implicitly an ecological view, since it understands evolution to consist “essentially of the origin, maintenance, and degradation of diversity”. This view is inspired by the mathematical modeling approach of the MacArthur-Wilson insular model of biogeography. However, it developed its own uniquely paleobiological perspective with the advent of massive fossil databases.Less
This chapter explores the taxic approach as a dominant perspective in paleobiology, and its contribution to the solidification of what came to be known as the Chicago School of analytical paleontology. It also represented the culmination of a long tradition in paleobiology—of drawing statistical interpretations of patterns in the history of life from an otherwise imperfect fossil record. This approach, in many ways, represents the paleobiological tradition in the second half of the twentieth century. The term “taxic paleontology” is defined as follows: “Paleontologists have always had the option of looking at the fossil record, in either or both of two ways—first, distributions in space and time of discrete taxa, which differ among themselves to a greater or lesser extent, and second, distributions in space and time of different states of morphological character assumed to be evolving.” Punctuated equilibria and the MBL model helped prepare the path for a taxic view. In each case, species are considered to be discrete entities with clearly demarcated births and deaths. This was not, however, the essence of taxic paleobiology. The taxic approach is also implicitly an ecological view, since it understands evolution to consist “essentially of the origin, maintenance, and degradation of diversity”. This view is inspired by the mathematical modeling approach of the MacArthur-Wilson insular model of biogeography. However, it developed its own uniquely paleobiological perspective with the advent of massive fossil databases.
Stephen Q. Dornbos, Matthew E. Clapham, Margaret L. Fraiser, and Marc Laflamme
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199642250
- eISBN:
- 9780191774768
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199642250.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Due to its extensive deep-time history encompassing almost 600 million years, the fossil record offers important insights into changing biodiversity in marine ecosystems, inluding rapid ...
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Due to its extensive deep-time history encompassing almost 600 million years, the fossil record offers important insights into changing biodiversity in marine ecosystems, inluding rapid diversification during the radiation of metazoans in the Ediacaran and the Cambrian explosion. This chapter examines three key biodiversity changes in history: the Ediacaran radiation of large multicellular eukaryotes, the Cambrian radiation of complex bilaterian-grade animals, and the end-Permian mass extinction. It discusses changes in biodiversity and their relation to various factors involved in ecosystem functioning such as bioturbation (biogenic mixing depth), functional diversity, and productivity. It also considers the link between species richness and functional diversity, the productivity-biodiversity relationship, and environmental changes during the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic.Less
Due to its extensive deep-time history encompassing almost 600 million years, the fossil record offers important insights into changing biodiversity in marine ecosystems, inluding rapid diversification during the radiation of metazoans in the Ediacaran and the Cambrian explosion. This chapter examines three key biodiversity changes in history: the Ediacaran radiation of large multicellular eukaryotes, the Cambrian radiation of complex bilaterian-grade animals, and the end-Permian mass extinction. It discusses changes in biodiversity and their relation to various factors involved in ecosystem functioning such as bioturbation (biogenic mixing depth), functional diversity, and productivity. It also considers the link between species richness and functional diversity, the productivity-biodiversity relationship, and environmental changes during the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic.
Marcelo Sánchez
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520271937
- eISBN:
- 9780520952300
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520271937.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter discusses the following topics: the extinction of most life on earth; the fossil record and what it tells us about evolution; the relation between paleontology and the biological ...
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This chapter discusses the following topics: the extinction of most life on earth; the fossil record and what it tells us about evolution; the relation between paleontology and the biological disciplines of development; parallels between paleontological and developmental transformations; that ontogeny does not simply recapitulate phylogeny; evolution of ontogenies; ontogeny and the conditions of existence; the relation between ontogeny and phylogeny; and ontogeny and the reconstruction of the tree of life.Less
This chapter discusses the following topics: the extinction of most life on earth; the fossil record and what it tells us about evolution; the relation between paleontology and the biological disciplines of development; parallels between paleontological and developmental transformations; that ontogeny does not simply recapitulate phylogeny; evolution of ontogenies; ontogeny and the conditions of existence; the relation between ontogeny and phylogeny; and ontogeny and the reconstruction of the tree of life.
Arthur J. Boucot
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748610
- eISBN:
- 9780226748597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748597.003.0024
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter examines punctuated equilibrium and compares it to the idea of community evolution that emerged from ecological study of the fossil record. It identifies what is believed to be the ...
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This chapter examines punctuated equilibrium and compares it to the idea of community evolution that emerged from ecological study of the fossil record. It identifies what is believed to be the weakness of the punctuated equilibrium theory and argues that community evolution is based on a more reliable empirical foundation. This chapter explains how punctuated equilibrium fails the sampling test because it assumes that there are only two rate modes characterizing species-level evolution and that newly evolved allopatric taxa have the inherent capability of reinvading the region of the parent species' environment.Less
This chapter examines punctuated equilibrium and compares it to the idea of community evolution that emerged from ecological study of the fossil record. It identifies what is believed to be the weakness of the punctuated equilibrium theory and argues that community evolution is based on a more reliable empirical foundation. This chapter explains how punctuated equilibrium fails the sampling test because it assumes that there are only two rate modes characterizing species-level evolution and that newly evolved allopatric taxa have the inherent capability of reinvading the region of the parent species' environment.
David Sepkoski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748559
- eISBN:
- 9780226748580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748580.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
Paleobiology transformed from a loose movement with a fairly uncoordinated set of goals to a bonafide sub-discipline with an active institutional and intellectual agenda. The dynamics of this shift ...
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Paleobiology transformed from a loose movement with a fairly uncoordinated set of goals to a bonafide sub-discipline with an active institutional and intellectual agenda. The dynamics of this shift are complex, and involve theoretical, institutional, and pedagogical factors. One of the striking features of the history of paleobiology is the extent to which the movement came to be so closely associated with a few signature theories. Over the time paleobiology emerged as a fairly casual label used to describe a broad approach to an array of questions surrounding the application of fossil data to problems in evolutionary biology. There is a set of practices that can be associated with this approach (such as quantitative analysis, modeling, and ecological/biogeographical theory), there is no unifying theoretical basis for paleobiology, nor did the term “paleobiology” have a distinct disciplinary identity within paleontology. However, paleobiology became closely associated with a prominent theory—known as the theory of punctuated equilibria—and the study of macroevolution as a dominant conceptual framework. Punctuated equilibria have two important roles. First, its invocation of Wrightian stochasticity provided inspiration for a number of studies that more deeply probed the influence of random or nondirectional elements in evolution as seen in the fossil record. Second, it acted as a model of a typoe of paleontology that could break the grip of Darwin's dilemma and could offer a route to bringing paleontology into the mainstream of evolutionary biology.Less
Paleobiology transformed from a loose movement with a fairly uncoordinated set of goals to a bonafide sub-discipline with an active institutional and intellectual agenda. The dynamics of this shift are complex, and involve theoretical, institutional, and pedagogical factors. One of the striking features of the history of paleobiology is the extent to which the movement came to be so closely associated with a few signature theories. Over the time paleobiology emerged as a fairly casual label used to describe a broad approach to an array of questions surrounding the application of fossil data to problems in evolutionary biology. There is a set of practices that can be associated with this approach (such as quantitative analysis, modeling, and ecological/biogeographical theory), there is no unifying theoretical basis for paleobiology, nor did the term “paleobiology” have a distinct disciplinary identity within paleontology. However, paleobiology became closely associated with a prominent theory—known as the theory of punctuated equilibria—and the study of macroevolution as a dominant conceptual framework. Punctuated equilibria have two important roles. First, its invocation of Wrightian stochasticity provided inspiration for a number of studies that more deeply probed the influence of random or nondirectional elements in evolution as seen in the fossil record. Second, it acted as a model of a typoe of paleontology that could break the grip of Darwin's dilemma and could offer a route to bringing paleontology into the mainstream of evolutionary biology.
Mark E. Patzkowsky and Steven M. Holland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226649375
- eISBN:
- 9780226649399
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226649399.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter describes a particular model of the fossil record that helps quantify the impact of stratigraphic architecture on the occurrence of fossils. The basic features of the fossil record that ...
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This chapter describes a particular model of the fossil record that helps quantify the impact of stratigraphic architecture on the occurrence of fossils. The basic features of the fossil record that are influenced by the stratigraphic record are also discussed. Ecology and evolution play an important role in controlling the occurrence of taxa in the fossil record, but this record is fundamentally altered by stratigraphic architecture. Paleobiologic interpretations that rely on the stratigraphic occurrence of fossils must acknowledge the effects of stratigraphic architecture and deal with them. The advent of sequence stratigraphy, coupled with ecological gradient models, allows for the understanding and quantifying the structure and completeness of the fossil record. These models reveal not only ways in which the fossil record may be controlled by processes of sediment deposition, but also clues to recognizing those effects and strategies for overcoming them.Less
This chapter describes a particular model of the fossil record that helps quantify the impact of stratigraphic architecture on the occurrence of fossils. The basic features of the fossil record that are influenced by the stratigraphic record are also discussed. Ecology and evolution play an important role in controlling the occurrence of taxa in the fossil record, but this record is fundamentally altered by stratigraphic architecture. Paleobiologic interpretations that rely on the stratigraphic occurrence of fossils must acknowledge the effects of stratigraphic architecture and deal with them. The advent of sequence stratigraphy, coupled with ecological gradient models, allows for the understanding and quantifying the structure and completeness of the fossil record. These models reveal not only ways in which the fossil record may be controlled by processes of sediment deposition, but also clues to recognizing those effects and strategies for overcoming them.
Mark E. Patzkowsky and Steven M. Holland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226649375
- eISBN:
- 9780226649399
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226649399.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This book focuses on the interpretation of the fossil record that has been exemplified by the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) controversy, and it has been repeated countless times across a wide array of ...
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This book focuses on the interpretation of the fossil record that has been exemplified by the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) controversy, and it has been repeated countless times across a wide array of paleontological studies on macroevolutionary patterns, morphological evolution, community ecology, and biostratigraphy. Stratigraphic paleobiology holds that any interpretation of the fossil record must be based on a modern understanding of the principles of sediment accumulation. It is defined as the intersection of sequence and event stratigraphy with paleobiology. This book addresses the nature and architecture of the stratigraphic record and how environmental gradients determine the distribution of species. A numerical model is developed that predicts many features of the fossil record arising as a result of stratigraphic architecture. Bases for understanding how the ecology and morphology of individual taxa change through time in a stratigraphic context are also provided in this book. The topics covered in this book apply for both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and across invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants.Less
This book focuses on the interpretation of the fossil record that has been exemplified by the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) controversy, and it has been repeated countless times across a wide array of paleontological studies on macroevolutionary patterns, morphological evolution, community ecology, and biostratigraphy. Stratigraphic paleobiology holds that any interpretation of the fossil record must be based on a modern understanding of the principles of sediment accumulation. It is defined as the intersection of sequence and event stratigraphy with paleobiology. This book addresses the nature and architecture of the stratigraphic record and how environmental gradients determine the distribution of species. A numerical model is developed that predicts many features of the fossil record arising as a result of stratigraphic architecture. Bases for understanding how the ecology and morphology of individual taxa change through time in a stratigraphic context are also provided in this book. The topics covered in this book apply for both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and across invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants.
David Sepkoski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748559
- eISBN:
- 9780226748580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748580.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter describes the growth and transformation of theoretical paleontology over the years. There has been recently a major transformation in paleontological approaches to evolutionary theory ...
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This chapter describes the growth and transformation of theoretical paleontology over the years. There has been recently a major transformation in paleontological approaches to evolutionary theory and the fossil record. This shift involved several distinct but related aspects. First, paleontologists began to actively assess the institutional status of their discipline—asking whether paleontology “belonged,” for example, with geology, or with biology, or rather whether it constituted an independent discipline on its own. Second, paleontologists began more and more to connect explicitly their work with the evolutionary agenda of the modern synthesis, and to publish in outlets that were read by biologists and geneticists. Third, and perhaps most significantly, paleontology became quantitative. Earlier quantitative methods (measurements and statistical analysis) were absent from the work of paleontology, resulting in synthetic questions about the fossil record of a quantitative rigor and sophistication not previously seen in paleontological literature.Less
This chapter describes the growth and transformation of theoretical paleontology over the years. There has been recently a major transformation in paleontological approaches to evolutionary theory and the fossil record. This shift involved several distinct but related aspects. First, paleontologists began to actively assess the institutional status of their discipline—asking whether paleontology “belonged,” for example, with geology, or with biology, or rather whether it constituted an independent discipline on its own. Second, paleontologists began more and more to connect explicitly their work with the evolutionary agenda of the modern synthesis, and to publish in outlets that were read by biologists and geneticists. Third, and perhaps most significantly, paleontology became quantitative. Earlier quantitative methods (measurements and statistical analysis) were absent from the work of paleontology, resulting in synthetic questions about the fossil record of a quantitative rigor and sophistication not previously seen in paleontological literature.
David Sepkoski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226748559
- eISBN:
- 9780226748580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226748580.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
The study and modeling of the history of diversity over time motivated a methodological question: how reliable is the fossil record, and how can that reliability be tested? These problems became the ...
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The study and modeling of the history of diversity over time motivated a methodological question: how reliable is the fossil record, and how can that reliability be tested? These problems became the core of analytical paleobiology, and represented a continuation and a consolidation of the themes examined thus far in the history of paleobiology. Ultimately, this focus led paleobiologists to ground-breaking quantitative studies of the interplay of rates of origination and extinction of taxa through time, the role of background and mass extinctions in the history of life, the survivorship of individual taxa, and the modeling of historical patterns of diversity. These questions became the central components of an emerging paleobiological theory of macroevolution. This chapter explores the early stages of this development in paleobiology by examining the emergence of a new, clearly-articulated agenda: the often-expressed desire to construct a “nomothetic paleontology.” This phrase originated first in an important sequence of papers that sought to develop a stochastic, equilibrial simulation of evolutionary dynamics over time—what came to be known as the MBL model—and quickly became a rallying cry for the new approach to paleobiology. The term “nomothetic” essentially means “law-producing”. The chapter also outlined some of the essential features of this approach.Less
The study and modeling of the history of diversity over time motivated a methodological question: how reliable is the fossil record, and how can that reliability be tested? These problems became the core of analytical paleobiology, and represented a continuation and a consolidation of the themes examined thus far in the history of paleobiology. Ultimately, this focus led paleobiologists to ground-breaking quantitative studies of the interplay of rates of origination and extinction of taxa through time, the role of background and mass extinctions in the history of life, the survivorship of individual taxa, and the modeling of historical patterns of diversity. These questions became the central components of an emerging paleobiological theory of macroevolution. This chapter explores the early stages of this development in paleobiology by examining the emergence of a new, clearly-articulated agenda: the often-expressed desire to construct a “nomothetic paleontology.” This phrase originated first in an important sequence of papers that sought to develop a stochastic, equilibrial simulation of evolutionary dynamics over time—what came to be known as the MBL model—and quickly became a rallying cry for the new approach to paleobiology. The term “nomothetic” essentially means “law-producing”. The chapter also outlined some of the essential features of this approach.
Niles Eldredge
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231153164
- eISBN:
- 9780231526753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231153164.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter delves into the development of the theory of punctuated equilibria, widely known as “punk eek.” Punctuated equilibria integrates the idea of the origin of species through geographic ...
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This chapter delves into the development of the theory of punctuated equilibria, widely known as “punk eek.” Punctuated equilibria integrates the idea of the origin of species through geographic isolation with the near-universal pattern of stasis. Stasis refers to the event in which most species do not seem to exhibit any form of change for the duration of their lives, often over millions of years. Despite the difficulty of tracing steady, gradual modification of an ancestral species into an undoubted descendant, new species still unexpectedly show up in the fossil record. The imagery caught in punctuated equilibria thus appears to be relatively rapid bursts of evolution interrupting longer periods of non-change of species.Less
This chapter delves into the development of the theory of punctuated equilibria, widely known as “punk eek.” Punctuated equilibria integrates the idea of the origin of species through geographic isolation with the near-universal pattern of stasis. Stasis refers to the event in which most species do not seem to exhibit any form of change for the duration of their lives, often over millions of years. Despite the difficulty of tracing steady, gradual modification of an ancestral species into an undoubted descendant, new species still unexpectedly show up in the fossil record. The imagery caught in punctuated equilibria thus appears to be relatively rapid bursts of evolution interrupting longer periods of non-change of species.
Raymond R. Rogers and Susan M. Kidwell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226723709
- eISBN:
- 9780226723730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226723730.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Bonebeds are remarkable features of the vertebrate fossil record that can embody ancient environmental catastrophes and, thus, reveal some of the most dramatic aspects of past ecosystems. They can ...
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Bonebeds are remarkable features of the vertebrate fossil record that can embody ancient environmental catastrophes and, thus, reveal some of the most dramatic aspects of past ecosystems. They can also serve as less sensational but equally informative gauges of sedimentary dynamics and biological recycling. Regardless of their particular mode(s) of origin, bonebeds, in their many forms, provide exceptional opportunities to investigate a variety of paleobiological and geological questions. This chapter proposes a system for the categorization and analysis of bonebeds analogous to the genetic classification scheme proposed by Kidwell et al. (1986) for marine macrobenthic concentrations. It explains how vertebrate hardparts accumulate and discusses biogenic concentrations, physical concentrations, fluvial channels, strandlines, bioclasts, obrution concentration, and sediment deposition.Less
Bonebeds are remarkable features of the vertebrate fossil record that can embody ancient environmental catastrophes and, thus, reveal some of the most dramatic aspects of past ecosystems. They can also serve as less sensational but equally informative gauges of sedimentary dynamics and biological recycling. Regardless of their particular mode(s) of origin, bonebeds, in their many forms, provide exceptional opportunities to investigate a variety of paleobiological and geological questions. This chapter proposes a system for the categorization and analysis of bonebeds analogous to the genetic classification scheme proposed by Kidwell et al. (1986) for marine macrobenthic concentrations. It explains how vertebrate hardparts accumulate and discusses biogenic concentrations, physical concentrations, fluvial channels, strandlines, bioclasts, obrution concentration, and sediment deposition.
Marcelo Sánchez
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520271937
- eISBN:
- 9780520952300
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520271937.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Mammalian life history and physiology are correlated with several anatomical features, some of which are recorded as fossils. They show us that diagnostic mammalian features did not originate ...
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Mammalian life history and physiology are correlated with several anatomical features, some of which are recorded as fossils. They show us that diagnostic mammalian features did not originate simultaneously, and that some evolved convergently in lineages which eventually became extinct. This chapter discusses developmental evolution at the root of the living mammalian diversity; the hominid fossil record; what is special about human development; Neanderthal babies and growth; and the timing of life history events.Less
Mammalian life history and physiology are correlated with several anatomical features, some of which are recorded as fossils. They show us that diagnostic mammalian features did not originate simultaneously, and that some evolved convergently in lineages which eventually became extinct. This chapter discusses developmental evolution at the root of the living mammalian diversity; the hominid fossil record; what is special about human development; Neanderthal babies and growth; and the timing of life history events.
Mark E. Patzkowsky and Steven M. Holland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226649375
- eISBN:
- 9780226649399
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226649399.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter discusses the recent concepts of the formation of sedimentary beds and their implications for the fine-scale structure of the fossil record. A summary of central topics in taphonomy, ...
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This chapter discusses the recent concepts of the formation of sedimentary beds and their implications for the fine-scale structure of the fossil record. A summary of central topics in taphonomy, including questions about out-of-habitat transport, the recognition of census and time-averaged assemblages, the difference between stratigraphic and paleontologic resolution, and the fidelity of fossil assemblages is presented. It is known that sedimentary beds and their time-averaged fossil assemblages are the fundamental units in a parallel hierarchy of temporal and spatial stratigraphic and paleoecologic units. Also, the spatial and temporal resolution of a bed defines the lower limit on biologic questions that can be asked in the fossil record, and paleoecologists should focus on questions that take advantage of the time-averaged nature of the fossil record.Less
This chapter discusses the recent concepts of the formation of sedimentary beds and their implications for the fine-scale structure of the fossil record. A summary of central topics in taphonomy, including questions about out-of-habitat transport, the recognition of census and time-averaged assemblages, the difference between stratigraphic and paleontologic resolution, and the fidelity of fossil assemblages is presented. It is known that sedimentary beds and their time-averaged fossil assemblages are the fundamental units in a parallel hierarchy of temporal and spatial stratigraphic and paleoecologic units. Also, the spatial and temporal resolution of a bed defines the lower limit on biologic questions that can be asked in the fossil record, and paleoecologists should focus on questions that take advantage of the time-averaged nature of the fossil record.
Clive Trueman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226723709
- eISBN:
- 9780226723730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226723730.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Fossil bones and teeth are the last physical remains of once-living vertebrates, and the chemistry of these fossils at least in part reflects the biochemistry of the individual. If the mineral phase ...
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Fossil bones and teeth are the last physical remains of once-living vertebrates, and the chemistry of these fossils at least in part reflects the biochemistry of the individual. If the mineral phase of bone remains unaltered during diagenesis and fossilization, then the bone will contain a biogenic signal that can be used to infer directly physiological, dietary, and climatic information about the animal and its environment. Geochemical analyses of trace elements are particularly well suited to the study of bonebeds. Trace element analyses can be used to assess the extent of mixing within a bonebed, to determine the origin of reworked bones within a mixed assemblage, and to help distinguish between catastrophic and attritional modes of accumulation. This chapter discusses the trace element geochemistry of bonebeds, focusing on the importance of diagenesis in understanding geochemical taphonomy, the use of rare earth elements in geochemistry, applications of geochemical provenance techniques in the fossil record, reworking of bones, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.Less
Fossil bones and teeth are the last physical remains of once-living vertebrates, and the chemistry of these fossils at least in part reflects the biochemistry of the individual. If the mineral phase of bone remains unaltered during diagenesis and fossilization, then the bone will contain a biogenic signal that can be used to infer directly physiological, dietary, and climatic information about the animal and its environment. Geochemical analyses of trace elements are particularly well suited to the study of bonebeds. Trace element analyses can be used to assess the extent of mixing within a bonebed, to determine the origin of reworked bones within a mixed assemblage, and to help distinguish between catastrophic and attritional modes of accumulation. This chapter discusses the trace element geochemistry of bonebeds, focusing on the importance of diagenesis in understanding geochemical taphonomy, the use of rare earth elements in geochemistry, applications of geochemical provenance techniques in the fossil record, reworking of bones, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
