Climate constrains the evolutionary history and biodiversity of crocodylians
Climate constrains the evolutionary history and biodiversity of crocodylians
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DOI：
10.1038/ncomms9438
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发表时间：
2015-09-01
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Butler, Richard J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mannion, Philip D.;Benson, Roger B. J.;Butler, Richard J.
鳄类和它们的近亲（伪鳄类）的化石记录揭示了丰富的进化历史，引发了关于它们长期下降到目前低生物多样性的原因的问题。我们使用一个全面的新数据集，分析了2.5亿年历史上亚采样伪鳄类生物多样性的气候驱动因素。生物多样性与环境变化密切相关，北方温带地区气温下降导致陆地生物类群长期减少，低纬度地区生物多样性减少与干旱化加剧的模式相吻合。然而，温度和海洋伪鳄类的生物多样性之间没有关系，海平面变化和灭绝后的机会主义被证明是更重要的驱动因素。一个“现代型”的纬度生物多样性梯度可能存在于整个伪鳄类的历史，并在温暖的间隔期间发生向两极的范围扩张。虽然它们的化石记录表明，目前的全球变暖可能会促进鳄鱼生物多样性和地理范围的长期增长，但人为环境退化的“平衡力量”使未来的预测变得复杂。
The fossil record of crocodylians and their relatives (pseudosuchians) reveals a rich evolutionary history, prompting questions about causes of long-term decline to their present-day low biodiversity. We analyse climatic drivers of subsampled pseudosuchian biodiversity over their 250 million year history, using a comprehensive new data set. Biodiversity and environmental changes correlate strongly, with long-term decline of terrestrial taxa driven by decreasing temperatures in northern temperate regions, and biodiversity decreases at lower latitudes matching patterns of increasing aridification. However, there is no relationship between temperature and biodiversity for marine pseudosuchians, with sea-level change and post-extinction opportunism demonstrated to be more important drivers. A 'modern-type' latitudinal biodiversity gradient might have existed throughout pseudosuchian history, and range expansion towards the poles occurred during warm intervals. Although their fossil record suggests that current global warming might promote long-term increases in crocodylian biodiversity and geographic range, the 'balancing forces' of anthropogenic environmental degradation complicate future predictions.