COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Predation Rates and Prey Escalation in Paleozoic Marine Benthic Ecosystems: The Role of Biotic Factors in the Evolutionary History of Marine Biosphere

合作研究：古生代海洋底栖生态系统中的捕食率和猎物升级：生物因素在海洋生物圈演化史中的作用这个项目将以腕足类作为目标猎物群来测试古生代海洋生态系统中捕食的作用。为了量化捕食行为，我们将使用捕食者在其腕足类猎物贝壳上留下的痕迹(如钻孔)，采用三管齐下的方法。首先，将对古生物专著中的插图进行调查，以寻找捕食的痕迹。其次，将对选定的博物馆收藏品进行筛选，以寻找捕食痕迹，并将使用多元统计和形态计量学方法分析所获得的数据。第三，关于猎物及其捕食者的多样性、分类学和丰富性的更多数据将从古生物文献中获得。该项目这一部分的具体目标是量化以下方面的时间和空间模式：(1)钻探捕食；(2)碾壳捕食；(3)底栖捕食者的多样性、分类学和丰富性；(4)腕足类贝壳中形成的防御形态特征；(5)其他潜在猎物的捕食痕迹。量化的模式将被用来评估捕食在古生代海洋生态系统中的作用和历史。我们还将评估古生代捕食者-捕食者系统升级的假说，以及中古生代海洋革命的确切时间和重要性。此外，还将探讨古生代腕足类与捕食者相互作用的原因机制。这种对古生代捕食历史的全面洞察将为先前对年轻(白垩纪-新生代)捕食化石记录进行广泛研究而获得的数据提供补充。该项目的最终目标是评估捕食在控制海洋生物群的进化和生态方面的长期重要性。

Abstract9909225 Kowalewski9909565 BaumillerCollaborative Research: Predation Rates and Prey Escalation in Paleozoic Marine Benthic Ecosystems: The Role of Biotic Factors in the Evolutionary History of Marine BiosphereThis project will test the role of predation in Paleozoic marine ecosystems using articulate brachiopods as a target prey group. To quantify predation, we will use traces (such as drill holes) left by predators on shells of their brachiopod prey using a three-pronged approach. First, illustrations in paleontological monographs will be surveyed for traces of predation. Second, selected museum collections will be screened for predation traces and the data acquired will be analyzed using multivariate statistics and morphometric methods. Third, additional data on diversity, taxonomy, and abundance of prey and their predators will be obtained from the paleontological literature. The specific objectives of this portion of the project are to quantify temporal and spatial patterns in (1) drilling predation; (2) shell-crushing predation; (3) diversity, taxonomy, and abundance of benthic predators; (4) defensive morphological traits developed in the shells of brachiopods; (5) predation traces on other potential prey. The quantified patterns will be used to evaluate the role and history of predation in Paleozoic marine ecosystems. We will also assess the hypothesis of escalation for the Paleozoic prey-predator system and the exact timing and importance of the mid-Paleozoic marine revolution. Causal mechanisms for brachiopod-predator interactions in the Paleozoic will be explored as well. This comprehensive insight into the history of predation in the Paleozoic will offer complimentary data to those obtained previously in extensive studies of the younger (Cretaceous-Cenozoic) fossil record of predation. The ultimate goal of this project is to assess the long-term importance of predation in controlling the evolution and ecology of marine biota.