Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 288, Issue 1950, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0545
Keywords
biodiversity; biogeography; macroevolution; climate change; marine plankton
Categories
Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [KI 806/17-1, FOR 2332]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Based on the study findings, it was revealed that over the past 66 million years, the diversity and dispersal of marine plankton were greatly influenced by large-scale climatic changes during the Cenozoic era. The origination of new species was more likely in the extratropics, while net dispersal was towards the tropics.
Many ecological and evolutionary hypotheses have been proposed to explain the latitudinal diversity gradient, i.e. the increase in species richness from the poles to the tropics. Among the evolutionary hypotheses, the 'out of the tropics' (OTT) hypothesis has received considerable attention. The OTT posits that the tropics are both a cradle and source of biodiversity for extratropical regions. To test the generality of the OTT hypothesis, we explored the spatial biodiversity dynamics of unicellular marine plankton over the Cenozoic era (the last 66 Myr). We find large-scale climatic changes during the Cenozoic shaped the diversification and dispersal of marine plankton. Origination was generally more likely in the extratropics and net dispersal was towards the tropics rather than in the opposite direction, especially during the warmer climates of the early Cenozoic. Although migration proportions varied among major plankton groups and climate phases, we provide evidence that the extratropics were a source of tropical microplankton biodiversity over the last 66 Myr.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available