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Wilson LN, Gardner JD, Wilson JP, Farnsworth A, Perry ZR, Druckenmiller PS, Erickson GM, Organ CL. Global latitudinal gradients and the evolution of body size in dinosaurs and mammals. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2864. [PMID: 38580657 PMCID: PMC10997647 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46843-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Global climate patterns fundamentally shape the distribution of species and ecosystems. For example, Bergmann's rule predicts that homeothermic animals, including birds and mammals, inhabiting cooler climates are generally larger than close relatives from warmer climates. The modern world, however, lacks the comparative data needed to evaluate such macroecological rules rigorously. Here, we test for Bergmann's rule in Mesozoic dinosaurs and mammaliaforms that radiated within relatively temperate global climate regimes. We develop a phylogenetic model that accounts for biases in the fossil record and allows for variable evolutionary dispersal rates. Our analysis also includes new fossil data from the extreme high-latitude Late Cretaceous Arctic Prince Creek Formation. We find no evidence for Bergmann's rule in Mesozoic dinosaurs or mammaliaforms, the ancestors of extant homeothermic birds and mammals. When our model is applied to thousands of extant dinosaur (bird) and mammal species, we find that body size evolution remains independent of latitude. A modest temperature effect is found in extant, but not in Mesozoic, birds, suggesting that body size evolution in modern birds was influenced by Bergmann's rule during Cenozoic climatic change. Our study provides a general approach for studying macroecological rules, highlighting the fossil record's power to address longstanding ecological principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren N Wilson
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
| | - Jacob D Gardner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6EX, UK.
| | - John P Wilson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59715, USA
| | - Alex Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol, BS8 1RL, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Zackary R Perry
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Patrick S Druckenmiller
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Gregory M Erickson
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - Chris L Organ
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6EX, UK.
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59715, USA.
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