Title of Research Project
Mass Extinctions Increase Evenness of Genus Diversity Across Ecological Modes
Major
Biology
Research Abstract
In the Big Five mass extinctions, species were eliminated from ecological modes (groups of species in the same habitat with the same motility method and feeding strategy) with greater species diversity preceding these events. Using Knope et al.'s (2015) data set of 18,621 marine animal genera, I asked: When diversity rebounds, does it recover to a similar distribution of genus diversity across modes or to a more even distribution spanning different modes? With each event, the difference in diversity among modes decreases, so evenness increases over time. Mass extinctions contribute to the broad range of diversity we see today.
Faculty Mentor/Advisor
Matthew Knope
Course
BIOL 319 Ecology, Matthew Knope
Mass Extinctions Increase Evenness of Genus Diversity Across Ecological Modes
In the Big Five mass extinctions, species were eliminated from ecological modes (groups of species in the same habitat with the same motility method and feeding strategy) with greater species diversity preceding these events. Using Knope et al.'s (2015) data set of 18,621 marine animal genera, I asked: When diversity rebounds, does it recover to a similar distribution of genus diversity across modes or to a more even distribution spanning different modes? With each event, the difference in diversity among modes decreases, so evenness increases over time. Mass extinctions contribute to the broad range of diversity we see today.
