Abstract
The magnitude and variability of Earth’s biodiversity have puzzled scientists ever since paleontologic fossil databases became available. We identify and study a model of interdependent species where both endogenous and exogenous impacts determine the nonstationary extinction dynamics. The framework provides an explanation for the qualitative difference of marine and continental biodiversity growth. In particular, the stagnation of marine biodiversity may result from a global transition from an imbalanced to a balanced state of the species dependency network. The predictions of our framework are in agreement with paleontologic databases.
- Received 6 January 2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.228101
© 2014 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Modeling Biodiversity
Published 5 June 2014
Researchers have constructed a model of species dependence that shows how marine biodiversity could have grown and then leveled off.
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