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Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Price, SA; Hopkins, SSB; Smith, KK; Roth, VL
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
May 2012

Mammals are characterized by the complex adaptations of their dentition, which are an indication that diet has played a critical role in their evolutionary history. Although much attention has focused on diet and the adaptations of specific taxa, the role of diet in large-scale diversification patterns remains unresolved. Contradictory hypotheses have been proposed, making prediction of the expected relationship difficult. We show that net diversification rate (the cumulative effect of speciation and extinction), differs significantly among living mammals, depending upon trophic strategy. Herbivores diversify fastest, carnivores are intermediate, and omnivores are slowest. The tempo of transitions between the trophic strategies is also highly biased: the fastest rates occur into omnivory from herbivory and carnivory and the lowest transition rates are between herbivory and carnivory. Extant herbivore and carnivore diversity arose primarily through diversification within lineages, whereas omnivore diversity evolved by transitions into the strategy. The ability to specialize and subdivide the trophic niche allowed herbivores and carnivores to evolve greater diversity than omnivores.

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Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

May 2012

Volume

109

Issue

18

Start / End Page

7008 / 7012

Related Subject Headings

  • Phylogeny
  • Mammals
  • Humans
  • Herbivory
  • Extinction, Biological
  • Ecosystem
  • Diet
  • Databases, Factual
  • Carnivory
  • Biological Evolution
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Price, S. A., Hopkins, S. S. B., Smith, K. K., & Roth, V. L. (2012). Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(18), 7008–7012. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1117133109
Price, Samantha A., Samantha S. B. Hopkins, Kathleen K. Smith, and V Louise Roth. “Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109, no. 18 (May 2012): 7008–12. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1117133109.
Price SA, Hopkins SSB, Smith KK, Roth VL. Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2012 May;109(18):7008–12.
Price, Samantha A., et al. “Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 109, no. 18, May 2012, pp. 7008–12. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.1117133109.
Price SA, Hopkins SSB, Smith KK, Roth VL. Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2012 May;109(18):7008–7012.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

May 2012

Volume

109

Issue

18

Start / End Page

7008 / 7012

Related Subject Headings

  • Phylogeny
  • Mammals
  • Humans
  • Herbivory
  • Extinction, Biological
  • Ecosystem
  • Diet
  • Databases, Factual
  • Carnivory
  • Biological Evolution