The importance of sampling standardization for comparisons of insect herbivory in deep time: a case study from the late Palaeozoic.

ABSTRACT: Sampling standardization has not been fully addressed for the study of insect herbivory in the fossil record. The effects of sampling within a single locality were explored almost a decade ago, but the importance of sampling standardization for comparisons of herbivory across space and time has not yet been evaluated. Here, we present a case study from the Permian in which we evaluate the impact of sampling standardization on comparisons of insect herbivory from two localities that are similar in age and floral composition. Comparisons of insect damage type (DT) diversity change dramatically when the number of leaves examined is standardized by surface area. This finding suggests that surface area should always be taken into account for comparisons of DT diversity. In addition, the three m

SUBMITTER: Schachat SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5882722 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature