Paper: Dunne et al 2020

Title: CLIMATIC DRIVERS OF LATITUDINAL VARIATION IN LATE TRIASSIC TETRAPOD DIVERSITY

For a fuller description of the paper itself, go to the end of this web page.

Each simulation published in this paper corresponds to a unique 5 or 6 character code on the web pages.
The following table lists the name of the simulation as used in the paper, and the corresponding code name

The webpage gives you the ability to examine the published simulations, but you can also download the raw (netcdf) files to perform your own analysis. Detailed instructions on how to use the webpages and access the data can be found here: Using_BRIDGE_webpages.pdf

Various climate variables are used for a set of climate model simualtions of the Late Triassic at 4xPICO2 using the Getech Plc. paleogeogrpahy.

You can have make you own analysis and plots by going here

Simulation Name as in PaperSimulation name on web pages
Rhaetianteqva
Norianteqvb
Carnianteqvc


This is a fuller description of paper

Deep time latitudinal biodiversity gradients (LBG) are highly uncertain. Here using novel methods we reconstruct LBG for the Late Triassic to assess tetrapod diversity and drivers impacting them.

NameDunne et al
Brief DescriptionDeep time latitudinal biodiversity gradients (LBG) are highly uncertain. Here using novel methods we reconstruct LBG for the Late Triassic to assess tetrapod diversity and drivers impacting them.
Full Author ListE.M. Dunne, A. Farnsworth, S.E. Greene, D.J. Lunt, R.J. Butler
TitleCLIMATIC DRIVERS OF LATITUDINAL VARIATION IN LATE TRIASSIC TETRAPOD DIVERSITY
Year?
JournalPalaeontology
Volume?
Issue
Pages
DOI?
Contact's NameAlex Farnsworth
Contact's emailalex.farnsworth@bristol.ac.uk
AbstractThe latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG), the increase in biodiversity from the poles to the equator, is one of the most widely recognised global macroecological patterns, yet its deep time evolution and drivers remain uncertain. The Late Triassic (237?201 million years ago), a critical interval for the early evolution and radiation of modern tetrapod groups (e.g. crocodylomorphs, mammaliamorphs), offers a unique opportunity to explore the palaeolatitudinal patterns of tetrapod diversity since it is extensively sampled spatially when compared with other pre-Cenozoic intervals, particularly at lower palaeolatitudes. Here, we explore palaeolatitudinal patterns of Late Triassic tetrapod diversity by applying sampling standardisation to comprehensive occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database. We then use palaeoclimatic model simulations to explore the palaeoclimatic ranges occupied by major tetrapod groups. This allows us to determine the influence of palaeoclimate on the palaeolatitudinal distribution of these groups. Our results show that Late Triassic tetrapods generally do not conform to a modern-type LBG; instead, sampling-standardised species richness is highest at mid-palaeolatitudes. In contrast, the richness of pseudosuchians (crocodylians and their relatives) is highest at the palaeoequator, a pattern that is retained throughout their subsequent evolutionary history. Pseudosuchians generally occupied a more restricted range of palaeoclimatic conditions than other tetrapod groups, a condition analogous to modern day reptilian ectotherms, while avemetatarsalians (the archosaur group containing dinosaurs and pterosaurs) exhibit comparatively wider ranges, which is more similar to modern endotherms, such as birds and mammals, suggesting important implications for the evolution of thermal physiology in dinosaurs.