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Study reveals predation-evolution link
Date:9/10/2007

igination and extinction of marine animal genera through the last 540 million years (Phanerozoic). There is a strong correlation between predation intensity and global marine biodiversity in the Phanerozoic, Huntley said.

In their article, Strong Coupling of Predation Intensity and Diversity in the Phanerozoic Fossil Record, the researchers offer three rival hypotheses to explain the correlation. Its the classic problem with interpreting a correlation, said Huntley you have to be careful when ascribing a cause. Lets say factors X and Y are correlated. A change in X could cause a change in Y, a change in Y could cause a change in X, or X and Y could both be controlled by another factor.

The first hypothesis is that predation intensity could be driving diversity. In this case, ecological interactions would matter in evolution, said Huntley. Organisms evolve over the long term in response to their enemies, and with increased predation intensity more species evolve.

The second hypothesis is that as biodiversity increased, by chance predators with more complex feeding strategies evolved. Predatory techniques like drilling and peeling shells are more evolutionarily-derived than more primitive forms of predation like whole ingestion. In this scenario you would expect to evolve sophisticated forms of predation only when diversity is high, said Huntley.

And the third hypothesis is that something else is driving both predation and biodiversity. Some periods have more sedimentary rocks, and therefore more fossils, preserved than others, said Huntley. There is less diversity to be observed when there are fewer fossils to study. Perhaps this sampling bias affects our ability to find samples with high predation intensities as well.

Now we will try to pick this apart, said Huntley. We can test these hypotheses by examining relevant linkages between predation intensity and diversity in modern oceanic environments. Also, understanding th
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Contact: Susan Trulove
strulove@vt.edu
540-231-5646
Virginia Tech
Source:Eurekalert

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