Low-Latitude Origins of the Four Phanerozoic Evolutionary Faunas

Rojas, A.; Calatayud, J.; Kowalewski, M.; Neuman, M.; Rosvall, M.

doi:10.1101/866186

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/866186

Low-Latitude Origins of the Four Phanerozoic Evolutionary Faunas

Rojas, A.·Calatayud, J.·Kowalewski, M.·Neuman, M.·Rosvall, M.

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Abstract

The hypothesis of the Great Evolutionary Faunas is a foundational concept of macroevolutionary research postulating that three global mega-assemblages have dominated Phanerozoic oceans following abrupt biotic transitions. Empirical estimates of this large-scale pattern depend on several methodological decisions and are based on approaches unable to capture multiscale dynamics of the underlying Earth-Life System. Combining a multilayer network representation of fossil data with a multilevel clustering that eliminates the subjectivity inherent to distance-based approaches, we demonstrate that Phanerozoic oceans sequentially harbored four global benthic mega-assemblages. Shifts in dominance patterns among these global marine mega-assemblages are abrupt (end-Cambrian 494 Ma; end-Permian 252 Ma) or protracted (mid-Cretaceous 129 Ma), and represent the three major biotic transitions in Earths history. This finding suggests that the mid-Cretaceous radiation of the so-called Modern evolutionary Fauna, concurrent with gradual ecological changes associated with the Mesozoic Marine Revolution, triggered a biotic transition comparably to the transition following the largest extinction event in the Phanerozoic. Overall, our study supports the notion that both long-term ecological changes and major geological events have played crucial roles in shaping mega-assemblages that dominated Phanerozoic oceans.

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Rojas, A., Calatayud, J., Kowalewski, M., Neuman, M., Rosvall, M.. 2019-12-06. Low-Latitude Origins of the Four Phanerozoic Evolutionary Faunas. https://doi.org/10.1101/866186

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