Burrowing facilitated the survival of mammals in harsh and fluctuating climates

Current Biology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: March 1, 2025

Species' ability to cope with climatic instability varies greatly, influenced by factors such as dispersal, physiological adaptations, and phylogenetic conservatism. Here, we investigate how burrowing behavior, a key component of species' endurance strategies ecosystem functioning, shaped the contemporary patterns species richness range size well diversification mammalian lineages. Analyzing 4,407 terrestrial mammal species, excluding bats, combined novel trait data on 3,096 reveal contrasting responses between non-burrowing species. Burrowing lineages are disproportionately species-rich at lower temperatures productivity. Both steeply increase climate seasonality in opposed The proportion increases latitude, regions above 20°, especially those exhibiting greater Pleistocene temperature changes, being almost exclusively composed Trait conservatism, higher net rates, Eocene peak provide evolutionary context for these patterns, underscoring role radiations into temperate climates. Moreover, extinction rate Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary support longstanding hypothesis that behavior promoted survival during "impact winter" marks replacement non-avian dinosaurs mammals. Our study highlights potential readily available information understanding ecological processes shape distributions through space time. careful integration divergent environmental constraints bears vast improvements forecasts changes global models biodiversity patterns.

Language: Английский

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Tetrapod species–area relationships across the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 122(13)

Published: March 25, 2025

Mass extinctions are rare but catastrophic events that profoundly disrupt biodiversity. Widely accepted consequences of mass extinctions, such as biodiversity loss and the appearance temporary “disaster taxa,” imply species–area relationships (SARs, or how scales with area) should change dramatically across these events: Specifically, both slope (the rate accumulation new species increasing intercept density at local scales) power–law relationship decrease. However, hypotheses have not been tested, contribution variation in SAR to diversity dynamics deep time has neglected. We use fossil data quantify nested SARs North American terrestrial tetrapods through Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction (Campanian–Ypresian). show vary substantially among groups. In pre-extinction interval (Maastrichtian), unusually shallow slopes (indicating low beta provinciality) drive total regional dinosaurs, mammals, other tetrapods. immediate postextinction (Danian), explosive diversification mammals drove high via a large increase higher provinciality), only limited intercept. This contradicts expectation biotas be regionally homogenized by spread disaster taxa impoverished loss. early was followed Thanetian–Selandian ( ∼ 4.4. myr later) increases intercept, indicating did synchrony.

Language: Английский

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Imbalanced speciation pulses sustain the radiation of mammals

Science, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 384(6699), P. 1007 - 1012

Published: May 30, 2024

The evolutionary histories of major clades, including mammals, often comprise changes in their diversification dynamics, but how these occur remains debated. We combined comprehensive phylogenetic and fossil information a new "birth-death diffusion" model that provides detailed characterization variation rates mammals. found an early rising sustained scenario, wherein speciation increased before during the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. K-Pg mass extinction event filtered out more slowly speciating lineages was followed by subsequent slowing rather than rebounds. These dynamics arose from imbalanced process, with separate giving rise to many, less speciation-prone descendants. Diversity seems have been brought about isolated, fast-speciating lineages, few punctuated innovations.

Language: Английский

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Early Cenozoic increases in mammal diversity cannot be explained solely by expansion into larger body sizes

Palaeontology, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 66(3)

Published: May 1, 2023

Abstract A prominent hypothesis in the diversification of placental mammals after Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K/Pg) boundary suggests that extinction non‐avian dinosaurs resulted ecological release mammals, which were previously constrained to small body sizes and limited species richness. This ‘dinosaur incumbency hypothesis’ may therefore explain increases mammalian diversity via expansion into larger size niches, occupied by dinosaurs, but does not directly predict other classes. To evaluate this, we estimate sampling‐standardized patterns terrestrial North American fossil within classes, during Cretaceous Palaeogene. We find strong evidence for post‐extinction all Increases small‐bodied (less than 100 g, common class much smaller smallest non‐avialan ( c . 400 g)) similar those species. propose had access greater energetic resources or able partition more finely K/Pg mass extinction. is likely be result a combination widespread niche clearing due extinctions, alongside suite biotic abiotic changes occurred Late across boundary, such as shifting floral composition, novel key innovations among eutherian mammals.

Language: Английский

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Biogeography of Vertebrates

Elsevier eBooks, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Jan. 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Mammalian evolution: Digging for lower extinction rates

Current Biology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 35(8), P. R295 - R297

Published: April 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Allometry then locomotor diversification shaped the evolution of lumbar morphology in early placental mammals

Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 2(1)

Published: Jan. 1, 2023

Abstract After the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, placental mammals rapidly diversified in size and locomotor mode, setting stage for to move into almost every habitat on Earth. Locomotion extant includes unique sagittal flexion of trunk primarily driven by lumbar vertebrae, a ribless region spine. Consequently, variation morphology is associated with wide variety styles. While origin this early therian Mesozoic has been studied, along stem, later functional diversification mammals, dominant group, essentially unstudied. We measured shape vertebrae from test how body size, specialization, phylogeny interacted function after extinction. used 3D geometric morphometrics quantify compare between these Palaeogene modern mammals. found that had high disparity correlated style. Surprisingly, several ‘archaic’ placentals, like hyaenodontids, showed highly mobile morphology. These findings show formed an important evolvable unit at beginning Cenozoic.

Language: Английский

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Unique functional diversity during early Cenozoic mammal radiation of North America

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 291(2026)

Published: July 1, 2024

Mammals influence nearly all aspects of energy flow and habitat structure in modern terrestrial ecosystems. However, anthropogenic effects have probably altered mammalian community structure, raising the question how past perturbations done so. We used functional diversity (FD) to describe North American mammal palaeocommunities changed over 66 Ma, an interval spanning radiation following K/Pg several subsequent environmental disruptions including Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), expansion grassland, onset Pleistocene glaciation. For 264 fossil communities, we examined three ecological function: evenness, richness divergence. found that shifts FD were associated with major transitions. All measures increased immediately extinction non-avian dinosaurs, suggesting high degrees disturbance can lead synchronous responses both locally continentally. Otherwise, components decoupled responded differently changes last ~56 Myr.

Language: Английский

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The decline and fall of the mammalian stem

PeerJ, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 12, P. e17004 - e17004

Published: Feb. 27, 2024

The mammalian crown originated during the Mesozoic and subsequently radiated into substantial array of forms now extant. However, for about 100 million years before crown’s origin, a diverse stem lineages dominated terrestrial ecosystems. Several these overlapped temporally geographically with mammals Mesozoic, but by end Cretaceous make up overwhelming majority fossil record. progress this transition between ecosystems those is not entirely clear, in part due to distinct separation analyses datasets. Analyses macroevolutionary patterns tend focus on either Mammaliaformes or non-mammalian cynodonts, little overlap datasets, preventing direct comparison diversification trends. Here I analyse species richness biogeography Synapsida as whole allowing within single framework. analysis reveals decline occurred two discrete phases. first phase Triassic Middle Jurassic, which were more restricted their geographic range than mammals, although localities remained at levels seen previously. second was richness, Lower Cretaceous. results show including tritylodontids several mammaliaform groups, tied specific event, nor gradual decline, instead multiphase transition.

Language: Английский

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Tetrapod vocal evolution: higher frequencies and faster rates of evolution in mammalian vocalizations

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Aug. 9, 2023

Abstract Using the voice to produce sound is a widespread form of communication and plays an important role in contexts as diverse parent-offspring interactions courtship. Variation tempo mode vocal signal evolution has been studied phylogenetic context within orders or classes, but understanding ultimately requires comparison across all major lineages involved. Here we used comparative analyses investigate dominant frequency (i.e., with highest energy content) its association body weight 873 species mammals, birds frogs. In agreement previous studies, found that negative allometric relationship between general feature systems. addition, mammals consistently vocalize at higher frequencies, evolved their vocalizations around 6-fold faster rates than those Although three groups strongly rely on communication, our findings show only have extensively explored spectral acoustic space. We argue such high diversity made possible by unique hearing system, which small, parental-caring, nocturnal insectivore ancestor, allowed them detect, therefore evolve, richer array frequencies other tetrapods.

Language: Английский

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