Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land
Open accessAbstract
Tetrapod biodiversity today is great; over the past 400 Myr since vertebrates moved onto land, global tetrapod diversity has risen exponentially, punctuated by losses during major extinctions. There are links between the total global diversity of tetrapods and the diversity of their ecological roles, yet no one fully understands the interplay of these two aspects of biodiversity and a numerical analysis of this relationship has not so far been undertaken. Here we show that the global taxonomic and ecological diversity of tetrapods are closely linked. Throughout geological time, patterns of global diversity of tetrapod families show 97 per cent correlation with ecological modes. Global taxonomic and ecological diversity of this group correlates closely with the dominant classes of tetrapods (amphibians in the Palaeozoic, reptiles in the Mesozoic, birds and mammals in the Cenozoic). These groups have driven ecological diversity by expansion and contraction of occupied ecospace, rather than by direct competition within existing ecospace and each group has used ecospace at a greater rate than their predecessors.
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Ecomorphological diversity is considered the main driver of species diversity, and diet is considered as one of the most important components of an animal's niche.
“Ecomorphological diversity is considered the main driver of species diversity, and diet is considered as one of the most important components of an animal's niche [1].”
From Mammalian intestinal allometry, phylogeny, trophic level and climate (2021) · cites this paper as [1]
The Results and Discussion link ecological diversity closely with tetrapod family diversity, and Methods includes diet among the variables defining ecological modes. But the Discussion identifies expansion into available ecospace—not ecomorphological diversity itself—as the main driver of tetrapod diversification. The paper does not rank diet as one of the most important components of an animal’s niche. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Benton, M. J. 1996 Testing the roles of competition and expansion in tetrapod evolution. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 263 , 641-646. (doi:10.1098 / rspb.1996.0096)
- Colbert, E. H. 1955 Evolution of the vertebrates . New York, NY: Wiley.
- Romer, A. S. 1966 Vertebrate paleontology . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Sepkoski, J. J. 1996 Competition in macroevolution: the double wedge revisited. In Evolutionary paleobiology (eds D. Jablonski, D. H. Erwin & J. H. Lipps), pp. 211-255. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.
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Close, R. A., Benson, R. B. J., Alroy, J., Carrano, M. T., Cleary, T. J., Dunne, E. M., Mannion, P. D., Uhen, M. D., & Butler, R. J. (2020) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.0372 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Mammalian intestinal allometry, phylogeny, trophic level and climate
Duque-Correa, M. J., Codron, D., Meloro, C., McGrosky, A., Schiffmann, C., Edwards, M. S., & Clauss, M. (2021) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.2888 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
- Authors
- Sahney, S., Benton, M. J., & Ferry, P. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Eikonworks, 805 3rd Street, Canmore, Alberta, Canada T1W 2J2
- Corresponding author
- Sahney, Sarda
- ORCID
- Benton, Michael J.
- Venue
- Biology Letters
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2010-01-27
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 544-547
- ISSN
- 1744-9561 (ISSN-L)
- 1744-957X
- PMC
- PMC2936204
- OpenAlex
- W2164801744
- Cited by
- 203
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 10.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Biology Letters (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/C518973/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Keywords
- tetrapods, vertebrate diversification, taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, mass extinction, Cenozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Biological, Animals, Paleontology, Phylogeny, Vertebrates, Ecosystem, Biodiversity
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