Abstract
The early part of an adaptive radiation is thought1 to show more taxonomic turnover than later stages. I show here that the effect on probability of extinction is one of exponential decrease, and that in the case of marine families this regular decline was interrupted by the great Permian extinction. A new exponential decrease followed, at a somewhat faster rate. The Cretaceous–Palaeogene extinction is the only other one detectably different from the scatter, and it had no apparent effect on extinction in the Cenozoic. These regularities support an interactive view of large-scale community evolution but do not uniquely determine the nature of the interaction.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Simpson, G. G. The Major Features of Evolution (Columbia University Press, 1953).
Sepkoski, J. J. Jr Milwaukee Publ. Mus., Contr. Biol. Geol. 51, 1–125 (1982).
Van Valen, L. M. Evol. Theor. 1, 1–30 (1973).
Raup, D. M. & Sepkoski, J. J. Jr Science 215, 1501–1503 (1982).
Darwin, C. On the Origin of Species (Murray, London, 1859).
Van Valen, L. M. Evolution 25, 420–428 (1971).
Van Valen, L. M. Evol. Theor. 4, 289–300 (1980).
Van Valen, L. M. J. molec. Evol. 3, 89–101 (1974).
Doyle, J. A. in Patterns of Evolution (ed. Hallam, A.) 501–546 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1977).
Van Valen, L. M. Evol. Theor. 4, 45–80 (1978).
Van Valen, L. M. in Conceptual Issues in Ecology (ed. Saarinen, E.) 323–343 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1982).
Alvarez, L. W. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 627–642 (1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Van Valen, L. A resetting of Phanerozoic community evolution. Nature 307, 50–52 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/307050a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/307050a0
This article is cited by
-
Niche partitioning shaped herbivore macroevolution through the early Mesozoic
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Skeletal marine animal biodiversity is built by families with long macroevolutionary lag times
Nature Ecology & Evolution (2020)
-
The fossil record of the Neogene Carnivore Mammals from Spain
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments (2015)
-
Bernd Rosslenbroich: On the origin of autonomy: a new look at the major transitions in evolution
Biology & Philosophy (2015)
-
The timing and pattern of biotic recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction
Nature Geoscience (2012)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.