Comparative Spatial Paleoecology: Assessing Niche Competition between Eocene North American Multituberculates and Rodents Regarding Forest Resources to Elucidate the Cause of Multituberculate Extinction

Multituberculate extinction is often cited as a classic case of competitive exclusion, coinciding with the first rodent arrivals in the late Paleocene. Analyzing 124 North American multituberculate last occurrence records during the Eocene from 56 to 34 million years ago, this study aimed to differentiate Eocene multituberculate and coeval rodent floral associations through geographic spatial analysis to understand niche overlap between the two groups.  If competitive exclusion with rodents was a factor in multituberculate extinction, both multituberculates and rodents would be predicted to share similar forest habitat preferences and have competed for similar ecological niches regarding their forest associations. Using spatial analysis, this study found that Eocene rodents and multituberculates did not overlap in their forest associations. The findings indicate that multituberculates were unique in inhabiting a specific type of ancient forest habitat, favoring forests composed of Metas..., How was this dataset collected?
The dataset consists of latitude and longitude data for Eocene North American fossil sites. It includes multituberculates (Neoplagiaulacidae and Neolitomus) and six rodent families (Ischyromyidae, Cylindrodontidae, Sciuravidae, Eutypomyidae, Eomyidae, and Protoptychidae) as defined in McKenna and Bell (1997). Data sources included primary literature, the Paleobiology Database, and various museum collections. Each site’s location was verified and adjusted using Google Earth to the nearest outcrop of rock. Data on fossil plants were also collected and included in this study. Where available, each occurrence was referenced with a PaleobioDB number. The PaleobioDB database is licensed under a CC0 International License. Specific references for each occurrence are stored in the MAMMAL_REF and PLANT_REF subfolders.
How has this dataset been processed?
To analyze the spatial relationships between mammal and plant fossil groups, four ranked parameters were calcula..., , # Comparative Spatial Paleoecology: Assessing Niche Competition between Eocene North American Multituberculates and Rodents Regarding Forest Resources to Elucidate the Cause of Multituberculate Extinction

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vmcvdnd2v](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vmcvdnd2v)

## Description of the data and file structure

# Data Repository Overview

This README provides an overview of the data files and analysis included in this repository. Navigate through the sections below for detailed information about each part of the dataset and methodology. This readme file also includes lists of all associated files.

* [1. Collection of Raw Data](#1-collection-of-raw-data)
* [2. Data Analysis](#2-data-analysis)
* [3. Null Model](#3-null-model)
* [4. Grid Model](#4-grid-model)
* [5. Results](#5-results)

## 1. Collection of Raw Data

This section discusses how the raw data was acquired from various sources including published literature, databases, and museum collections.

## 2. Dat...