Patterns of diversification in terrestrial vertebrate evolution

脊椎动物化石记录，保存复合体 骨骼和牙齿提供了进化动力学的最好证据 大的时间尺度，用于研究导致 现代生态系统。的起源和最初的阶段 羊膜动物的进化代表着一个伟大的 地球历史上的一章，脊椎动物对土地的征服。在6小时内 它们第一次出现的百万年 3.11亿年前(Ma)，我们看到快速的进化辐射延伸到 目前，包括现存的鳞类，海龟，鳄鱼， 鸟类、哺乳动物和许多已灭绝的近亲，包括恐龙。 正在进行的脊椎动物古生物学研究包括解剖学， 早期羊膜动物的分类多样性和系统发育关系将继续下去 是目前提案的一部分，因为新的发现可能会有主要的 对我们理解脊椎动物进化的影响。在这里，我建议将 这些正在进行的调查与生态多样性研究相结合。因此，我 计划评估出租车和生态多样性的进化变化 通过它们重建的觅食行为反映出来的。首先，我 将首次整合经过校准的系统发育分析 更好地理解多样化和进化模式的分支 在社区内部。然后我将检查形态变化(视差)， 包括牙齿和下颌的多样性在比较、系统发育和 时间背景，以跟踪早期的生态多样性 羊膜动物进化为获取以前未被占领的生态空间和新食物 资源。牙齿和颌骨形状及大小变化的形态计量学分析 在连续的古生代群落中，将被组织成8个时间箱， 从晚石炭世(311 Ma)至中二叠世(272 Ma)。在……里面 为了了解这些古生代的生态多样性 我计划量化牙齿和下巴形态的变化，以及 推断出每个分类单元的饮食喜好。其他几个变量， 包括颅骨和颅后数据可包括在总视差中 分析。由于现存的爬行动物在形态上与古生代相似 陆生羊栖生物、鳞片类可作为现存的模式系统。我的 研究小组将首次开发出能够 应用于早期羊水，并测试饮食的假设重要性 羊膜动物生态多样性的转变。组合生态的新用途 出租车多样性模式代表了一种变革性的方式， 我们接近这个古生物学研究项目。这些分析将为早期羊水动物的群落结构和进化提供新的线索。 陆生脊椎动物进化的初始阶段。

The fossil record of vertebrates, with preservation of complex skeletons and teeth provides the best evidence of evolutionary dynamics across large temporal scales for investigating the mechanisms and conditions that led to the modern ecosystems. The origin and initial stages of amniote evolution represent the start of a great chapter in earth's history, the conquest of land by vertebrates. Within 6 million years of their first appearance 311 Million year ago (Ma), we see rapid evolutionary radiations that extend to the present, and include extant squamates, turtles, crocodiles, birds, mammals, and many extinct relatives, including dinosaurs. Ongoing research in vertebrate paleontology including the anatomy, taxic diversity, and phylogenetic relationships of early amniotes will continue to be part of the present proposal because new discoveries can have major impacts on our understanding of vertebrate evolution. Here I propose to combine these ongoing investigations with studies of ecological diversity. I therefore plan to evaluate evolutionary changes in both taxic and ecological diversity through time as reflected by their reconstructed feeding behaviour. First, I will integrate for the first time calibrated phylogenetic analyses across clades for a better understanding of patterns of diversification and evolution within communities. I will then examine morphological variation (disparity), including dental and mandibular diversity in comparative, phylogenetic and temporal contexts in order to track the ecological diversification of early amniotes as they evolved to access formerly unoccupied ecospaces and novel food resources. Morphometric analyses of variation in tooth and jaw shape, and size in successive Paleozoic communities will be organized into 8 time bins that extend from the Late Carboniferous (311 Ma) to the Middle Permian (272 Ma). In order to understand the ecological diversity present in these Paleozoic communities I plan to quantify variation in tooth and jaw morphology, and deduce the dietary preferences in each taxon. Several other variables, including cranial and postcranial data may be included in the total disparity analyses. Since extant reptiles show morphological similarities to Paleozoic terrestrial amniotes, squamates can be used as extant model systems. My research group will develop for the first time ecomorphological models that can be applied to early amniotes, and test the hypothetical importance of dietary shifts in the ecological diversification of amniotes. The novel use of combined ecological and taxic diversity patterns represents one of the transformative ways in which we approach this paleobiological research program. These analyses will shed new light on the community structure and evolution of early amniotes during the initial stages of terrestrial vertebrate evolution.