Convergence, divergence, and parallelism in marine biodiversity trends: Integrating present-day and fossil data.

ABSTRACT: Paleontological data provide essential insights into the processes shaping the spatial distribution of present-day biodiversity. Here, we combine biogeographic data with the fossil record to investigate the roles of parallelism (similar diversities reached via changes from similar starting points), convergence (similar diversities reached from different starting points), and divergence in shaping the present-day latitudinal diversity gradients of marine bivalves along the two North American coasts. Although both faunas show the expected overall poleward decline in species richness, the trends differ between the coasts, and the discrepancies are not explained simply by present-day temperature differences. Instead, the fossil record indicates that both coasts have declined in overall diversi

SUBMITTER: Huang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413324 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature