Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea

Brocklehurst N, Dunne E, Cashmore D, Frӧbisch J (2018)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2018

Journal

Nature Communications Nature Publishing Group: Nature Communications

Book Volume: 9

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07623-x

Abstract

The Carboniferous and Permian were crucial intervals in the establishment of terrestrial ecosystems, which occurred alongside substantial environmental and climate changes throughout the globe, as well as the final assembly of the supercontinent of Pangaea. The influence of these changes on tetrapod biogeography is highly contentious, with some authors suggesting a cosmopolitan fauna resulting from a lack of barriers, and some identifying provincialism. Here we carry out a detailed historical biogeographic analysis of late Paleozoic tetrapods to study the patterns of dispersal and vicariance. A likelihood-based approach to infer ancestral areas is combined with stochastic mapping to assess rates of vicariance and dispersal. Both the late Carboniferous and the end-Guadalupian are characterised by a decrease in dispersal and a vicariance peak in amniotes and amphibians. The first of these shifts is attributed to orogenic activity, the second to increasing climate heterogeneity.

Authors with CRIS profile

Emma Dunne Lehrstuhl für Paläoumwelt

Involved external institutions

Museum für Naturkunde DE Germany (DE) University of Birmingham GB United Kingdom (GB)

How to cite

APA:

Brocklehurst, N., Dunne, E., Cashmore, D., & Frӧbisch, J. (2018). Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea. Nature Communications, 9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07623-x

MLA:

Brocklehurst, Neil, et al. "Physical and environmental drivers of Paleozoic tetrapod dispersal across Pangaea." Nature Communications 9 (2018).

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