Journal article
Silurian trilobite alpha diversity and the end-Ordovician mass extinction
Paleobiology, Vol.26(4), pp.625-646
12/2000
DOI: 10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0625:STADAT>2.0.CO;2
Abstract
Following the end-Ordovician extinction, global clade diversity of Silurian trilobites dropped to about half of Ordovician levels. Although clade diversity failed to recover, this extinction had surprisingly little long-term impact on the number of trilobite species that occupied local habitats (alpha diversity). A new compilation of data from Laurentia and other continents indicates that Silurian trilobite alpha diversities in all major environments were comparable to those of the Late Cambrian and Ordovician; shallow subtidal diversity reached an all-time high during the Late Ordovician. The profound differences in patterns at local and global levels demonstrate the necessity for a hierarchical approach to analyses of diversity. Factors governing global clade diversity are lodged at hierarchical levels beyond those controlling local species richness and must be sought in studies of between-habitat (beta) or geographic (gamma) diversity.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Silurian trilobite alpha diversity and the end-Ordovician mass extinction
- Creators
- Jonathan M Adrain - University of IowaStephen R Westrop - University of OklahomaBrian D. E Chatterton - University of AlbertaLars Ramsköld - Uppsala University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Paleobiology, Vol.26(4), pp.625-646
- DOI
- 10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0625:STADAT>2.0.CO;2
- ISSN
- 0094-8373
- eISSN
- 1938-5331
- Number of pages
- 22
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/2000
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984229302002771
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