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Ecological selectivity and the evolution of mammalian substrate preference across the K-Pg boundary.

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cam.issuedOnline2021-10-11
dc.contributor.authorHughes, Jonathan J
dc.contributor.authorBerv, Jacob S
dc.contributor.authorChester, Stephen GB
dc.contributor.authorSargis, Eric J
dc.contributor.authorField, Daniel J
dc.contributor.orcidHughes, Jonathan J [0000-0001-5493-9134]
dc.contributor.orcidBerv, Jacob S [0000-0002-5962-0621]
dc.contributor.orcidChester, Stephen GB [0000-0002-6479-5741]
dc.contributor.orcidSargis, Eric J [0000-0003-0424-3803]
dc.contributor.orcidField, Daniel J [0000-0002-1786-0352]
dc.date.accessioned2022-01-07T11:11:31Z
dc.date.available2022-01-07T11:11:31Z
dc.date.issued2021-11
dc.date.updated2022-01-07T11:11:30Z
dc.description.abstractThe Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction 66 million years ago was characterized by a worldwide ecological catastrophe and rapid species turnover. Large-scale devastation of forested environments resulting from the Chicxulub asteroid impact likely influenced the evolutionary trajectories of multiple clades in terrestrial environments, and it has been hypothesized to have biased survivorship in favour of nonarboreal lineages across the K-Pg boundary. Here, we evaluate patterns of substrate preferences across the K-Pg boundary among crown group mammals, a group that underwent rapid diversification following the mass extinction. Using Bayesian, likelihood, and parsimony reconstructions, we identify patterns of mammalian ecological selectivity that are broadly similar to those previously hypothesized for birds. Models based on extant taxa indicate predominant K-Pg survivorship among semi- or nonarboreal taxa, followed by numerous independent transitions to arboreality in the early Cenozoic. However, contrary to the predominant signal, some or all members of total-clade Euarchonta (Primates + Dermoptera + Scandentia) appear to have maintained arboreal habits across the K-Pg boundary, suggesting ecological flexibility during an interval of global habitat instability. We further observe a pronounced shift in character state transitions away from plesiomorphic arboreality associated with the K-Pg transition. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that predominantly nonarboreal taxa preferentially survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, and emphasize the pivotal influence of the K-Pg transition in shaping the early evolutionary trajectories of extant terrestrial vertebrates.
dc.description.sponsorshipNSF
dc.identifier.doi10.17863/CAM.79732
dc.identifier.eissn2045-7758
dc.identifier.issn2045-7758
dc.identifier.otherPMC8571592
dc.identifier.other34765124
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/332285
dc.languageeng
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherWiley
dc.publisher.urlhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8114
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.sourceessn: 2045-7758
dc.sourcenlmid: 101566408
dc.subjectancestral state reconstruction
dc.subjecteuarchontans
dc.subjectmarsupials
dc.subjectpaleoecology
dc.subjectplacentals
dc.subjectsubstrate use
dc.titleEcological selectivity and the evolution of mammalian substrate preference across the K-Pg boundary.
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.dateAccepted2021-08-24
prism.endingPage14554
prism.issueIdentifier21
prism.publicationNameEcol Evol
prism.startingPage14540
prism.volume11
pubs.funder-project-idMRC (MR/S032177)
pubs.funder-project-idIsaac Newton Trust (13.21(c)/18.47(a))
pubs.funder-project-idUK Research and Innovation (MR/S032177/1)
rioxxterms.licenseref.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
rioxxterms.versionVoR
rioxxterms.versionofrecord10.1002/ece3.8114

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