Data from: Regional and environmental variation in escalatory ecological trends during the Jurassic: a western Tethys hot spot for escalation?

Understanding the drivers of macroevolutionary trends through the Phanerozoic has been a central question in paleobiology. Increasingly important is understanding the regional and environmental variation of macroevolutionary patterns and how they are reflected at the global scale. Here we test the role of biotic interactions on regional ecological patterns during the Mesozoic Marine Revolution. We test for escalatory trends in Jurassic marine benthic macroinvertebrate ecosystems using occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database parsed by region and environment. The escalation hypothesis posits that taxonomic groups that can adapt to intense predation and bioturbation proliferated, whereas groups unable to adapt were reduced in diversity and abundance or driven to extinction. We tested these hypotheses in five regions during Jurassic stages as well as among four depositional environments in Europe. Few escalatory trends were detected, although at least one escalatory trend was observed in every region, with the most and strongest trends observed in Europe. These trends include increases in shallow infauna, cementing epifauna, and facultative mobile occurrences and decreases in pedunculate, free-lying, and sessile epifauna. Within Europe, escalatory trends occur in shallow water environments, but also in deeper-water environments, where they are predicted not to occur. When regional trends are aggregated, trends in Europe drive the global signal. The results of this study suggest that while evidence of escalation is rare globally, it is plausible that escalation drove macroevolutionary patterns in Europe. Furthermore, these results underline the need to dissect global fossil data at the regional scale to understand global macroevolutionary dynamics.

阐明显生宙（Phanerozoic）以来宏观演化趋势的驱动机制，始终是古生物学（paleobiology）领域的核心议题之一。厘清宏观演化模式的区域与环境差异，及其如何在全球尺度上得以体现，其重要性也与日俱增。本研究聚焦中生代海洋革命（Mesozoic Marine Revolution）期间的区域生态模式，验证生物相互作用在此过程中所发挥的作用。我们依托经区域与环境维度拆分的古生物学数据库（Paleobiology Database）化石产出数据，对侏罗纪海洋底栖大型无脊椎动物（benthic macroinvertebrate）生态系统中的升级演化趋势展开检验。升级演化假说（escalation hypothesis）提出：能够适应高强度捕食与生物扰动的分类群（taxonomic group）会得以繁盛，而无法适应的类群则会出现多样性与丰度下降，甚至走向灭绝。我们在五个覆盖侏罗纪各阶段的区域，以及欧洲境内的四类沉积环境中对上述假说进行了检验。尽管所有区域均至少观测到一处升级演化趋势，且欧洲的升级趋势数量最多、强度最大，但整体而言可被检测到的升级趋势并不多见。此类演化趋势具体表现为：浅水底内生物、结壳固着表生生物以及兼性移动类群的占比上升，而有柄表生生物、自由躺卧表生生物与固着表生生物的占比则出现下降。在欧洲境内，升级演化趋势不仅出现于浅水环境，同样也出现在原本被认为不会发生此类趋势的深水环境中。当将各区域的演化趋势进行聚合分析时，欧洲的演化趋势主导了全球尺度的宏观演化信号。本研究结果表明：尽管全球范围内升级演化的相关证据较为稀少，但欧洲地区的宏观演化模式极有可能是由升级演化所驱动的。此外，本研究结果也凸显出：若要理解全球宏观演化的动态机制，需将全球化石数据按区域维度进行细分拆解。