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A tip of the hat to evolutionary change

The relative roles of biological and environmental factors in driving evolutionary change have been unclear. Now fossil analysis shows that their action depends on where an animal group is in its evolutionary trajectory.
  1. Charles R. Marshall

    1. Charles R. Marshall is in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.

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Assessing the relative importance of biological interactions (biotic factors) and changes in the physical environment (abiotic factors) in driving evolution has proved difficult, partly owing to the lack of high-quality data sets that combine both fossil remains and associated ancient environmental data. The few studies that have quantified the relative contributions of these two drivers describe a complex relationship1. However, on page 92, Žliobaitė et al.2 report an unexpectedly simple pattern of driver action in peak evolutionary success.

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Nature 552, 35-37 (2017)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-017-07440-0

References

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  12. Foote, M. & Miller, A. I. Principles of Paleontology 185 (Fig. 7.11) (Freeman, 2006).

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