Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs

Emma M. Dunne; Alexander Farnsworth; Roger B.J. Benson; Pedro L. Godoy; Sarah E. Greene; Paul J. Valdes; Daniel J. Lunt; Richard J. Butler

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064

Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs

Emma M. Dunne
, Alexander Farnsworth
, Roger B.J. Benson
, Pedro L. Godoy
, Sarah E. Greene
, Paul J. Valdes
, Daniel J. Lunt
, Richard J. Butler

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

155 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1,2,3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attaining wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4,5,6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dinosaur and tetrapod “climatic niche space” across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide support for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs.

Original language	English
Number of pages	14
Journal	Current Biology
Volume	33
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064
Publication status	Published - 16 Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank all contributors to the Paleobiology Database Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tetrapod occurrence data, particularly Matthew Carrano. This is Paleobiology Database publication number 445. We sincerely thank Kimberley Chapelle, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Davide Foffa, Stephan Lautenschlager, Phillip Mannion, and Omar Regalado Fernandez for lending their taxonomic expertise and engaging in discussions and constructive feedback. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We thank Roberto Diaz Sibaja, Tasman Dixon, and Scott Hartman for creating silhouettes and uploading them to phylopic.org (CC BY 3.0 license). This research was initially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 637483 (ERC starting grant TERRA to R.J.B.), and its completion was supported by a Leverhulme Research Project grant (RPG-2019-365). P.L.G. was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596) and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP 2022/05697-9). A.F. P.J.V. and D.J.L. acknowledge NE/P013805/1. A.F. also acknowledges the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists grant no. 2021FSE0001. E.M.D. A.F. R.B.J.B. S.E.G. and R.J.B. designed the research; E.M.D. A.F. P.L.G. and R.B.J.B. performed research and analyzed data; D.J.L. and P.J.V. contributed to the experimental design of the GCMs; E.M.D. R.B.J.B. and R.J.B. wrote the paper with contributions from all authors. The authors declare no competing interests. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a gender minority in their field of research. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote gender balance in our reference list. We support inclusive, diverse, and equitable conduct of research.

Funding Information:
We thank all contributors to the Paleobiology Database Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tetrapod occurrence data, particularly Matthew Carrano. This is Paleobiology Database publication number 445. We sincerely thank Kimberley Chapelle, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Davide Foffa, Stephan Lautenschlager, Phillip Mannion, and Omar Regalado Fernandez for lending their taxonomic expertise and engaging in discussions and constructive feedback. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We thank Roberto Diaz Sibaja, Tasman Dixon, and Scott Hartman for creating silhouettes and uploading them to phylopic.org (CC BY 3.0 license). This research was initially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 637483 ( ERC starting grant TERRA to R.J.B.), and its completion was supported by a Leverhulme Research Project grant ( RPG-2019-365 ). P.L.G. was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596 ) and São Paulo Research Foundation ( FAPESP 2022/05697-9 ). A.F., P.J.V., and D.J.L. acknowledge NE/P013805/1. A.F. also acknowledges the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists grant no. 2021FSE0001 .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 15 Life on Land

Keywords

end-Triassic
Dinosauria
Sauropodmorpha
climate
evolution
macroevolution
paleoclimate

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Cite this

@article{aea1ae8622604d4da9d50fe38a0f470e,

title = "Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs",

abstract = "The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1,2,3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attaining wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4,5,6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dinosaur and tetrapod {\textquotedblleft}climatic niche space{\textquotedblright} across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide support for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs.",

keywords = "end-Triassic, Dinosauria, Sauropodmorpha, climate, evolution, macroevolution, paleoclimate",

author = "Dunne, \{Emma M.\} and Alexander Farnsworth and Benson, \{Roger B.J.\} and Godoy, \{Pedro L.\} and Greene, \{Sarah E.\} and Valdes, \{Paul J.\} and Lunt, \{Daniel J.\} and Butler, \{Richard J.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank all contributors to the Paleobiology Database Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tetrapod occurrence data, particularly Matthew Carrano. This is Paleobiology Database publication number 445. We sincerely thank Kimberley Chapelle, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Davide Foffa, Stephan Lautenschlager, Phillip Mannion, and Omar Regalado Fernandez for lending their taxonomic expertise and engaging in discussions and constructive feedback. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We thank Roberto Diaz Sibaja, Tasman Dixon, and Scott Hartman for creating silhouettes and uploading them to phylopic.org (CC BY 3.0 license). This research was initially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 637483 (ERC starting grant TERRA to R.J.B.), and its completion was supported by a Leverhulme Research Project grant (RPG-2019-365). P.L.G. was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596) and S{\~a}o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP 2022/05697-9). A.F. P.J.V. and D.J.L. acknowledge NE/P013805/1. A.F. also acknowledges the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists grant no. 2021FSE0001. E.M.D. A.F. R.B.J.B. S.E.G. and R.J.B. designed the research; E.M.D. A.F. P.L.G. and R.B.J.B. performed research and analyzed data; D.J.L. and P.J.V. contributed to the experimental design of the GCMs; E.M.D. R.B.J.B. and R.J.B. wrote the paper with contributions from all authors. The authors declare no competing interests. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a gender minority in their field of research. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote gender balance in our reference list. We support inclusive, diverse, and equitable conduct of research. Funding Information: We thank all contributors to the Paleobiology Database Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tetrapod occurrence data, particularly Matthew Carrano. This is Paleobiology Database publication number 445. We sincerely thank Kimberley Chapelle, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Davide Foffa, Stephan Lautenschlager, Phillip Mannion, and Omar Regalado Fernandez for lending their taxonomic expertise and engaging in discussions and constructive feedback. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We thank Roberto Diaz Sibaja, Tasman Dixon, and Scott Hartman for creating silhouettes and uploading them to phylopic.org (CC BY 3.0 license). This research was initially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 637483 ( ERC starting grant TERRA to R.J.B.), and its completion was supported by a Leverhulme Research Project grant ( RPG-2019-365 ). P.L.G. was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596 ) and S{\~a}o Paulo Research Foundation ( FAPESP 2022/05697-9 ). A.F., P.J.V., and D.J.L. acknowledge NE/P013805/1. A.F. also acknowledges the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists grant no. 2021FSE0001 . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",

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AU - Dunne, Emma M.

AU - Farnsworth, Alexander

AU - Benson, Roger B.J.

AU - Godoy, Pedro L.

AU - Greene, Sarah E.

AU - Valdes, Paul J.

AU - Lunt, Daniel J.

AU - Butler, Richard J.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank all contributors to the Paleobiology Database Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tetrapod occurrence data, particularly Matthew Carrano. This is Paleobiology Database publication number 445. We sincerely thank Kimberley Chapelle, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Davide Foffa, Stephan Lautenschlager, Phillip Mannion, and Omar Regalado Fernandez for lending their taxonomic expertise and engaging in discussions and constructive feedback. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We thank Roberto Diaz Sibaja, Tasman Dixon, and Scott Hartman for creating silhouettes and uploading them to phylopic.org (CC BY 3.0 license). This research was initially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 637483 (ERC starting grant TERRA to R.J.B.), and its completion was supported by a Leverhulme Research Project grant (RPG-2019-365). P.L.G. was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596) and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP 2022/05697-9). A.F. P.J.V. and D.J.L. acknowledge NE/P013805/1. A.F. also acknowledges the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists grant no. 2021FSE0001. E.M.D. A.F. R.B.J.B. S.E.G. and R.J.B. designed the research; E.M.D. A.F. P.L.G. and R.B.J.B. performed research and analyzed data; D.J.L. and P.J.V. contributed to the experimental design of the GCMs; E.M.D. R.B.J.B. and R.J.B. wrote the paper with contributions from all authors. The authors declare no competing interests. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a gender minority in their field of research. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote gender balance in our reference list. We support inclusive, diverse, and equitable conduct of research. Funding Information: We thank all contributors to the Paleobiology Database Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tetrapod occurrence data, particularly Matthew Carrano. This is Paleobiology Database publication number 445. We sincerely thank Kimberley Chapelle, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Davide Foffa, Stephan Lautenschlager, Phillip Mannion, and Omar Regalado Fernandez for lending their taxonomic expertise and engaging in discussions and constructive feedback. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. We thank Roberto Diaz Sibaja, Tasman Dixon, and Scott Hartman for creating silhouettes and uploading them to phylopic.org (CC BY 3.0 license). This research was initially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 637483 ( ERC starting grant TERRA to R.J.B.), and its completion was supported by a Leverhulme Research Project grant ( RPG-2019-365 ). P.L.G. was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596 ) and São Paulo Research Foundation ( FAPESP 2022/05697-9 ). A.F., P.J.V., and D.J.L. acknowledge NE/P013805/1. A.F. also acknowledges the Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists grant no. 2021FSE0001 . Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

PY - 2022/12/16

Y1 - 2022/12/16

N2 - The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1,2,3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attaining wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4,5,6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dinosaur and tetrapod “climatic niche space” across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide support for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs.

AB - The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1,2,3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attaining wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4,5,6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dinosaur and tetrapod “climatic niche space” across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide support for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs.

KW - end-Triassic

KW - Dinosauria

KW - Sauropodmorpha

KW - climate

KW - evolution

KW - macroevolution

KW - paleoclimate

U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064

DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

C2 - 36528026

SN - 0960-9822

VL - 33

JO - Current Biology

JF - Current Biology

IS - 1

ER -

Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

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