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The Extinction of the Multituberculates Outside North America: a Global Approach to Testing the Competition Model

Wood, D Joseph
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275595604

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology.
The hypothesis that the extinction of the Multituberculata largely resulted from competition with early members of the Rodentia, based mainly on fossil-rich sequences in North America, features prominently in the history of early mammals. In this study, I expand the scope of investigation into this subject to include the other two continents where multituberculates made up a significant portion of the community, Europe and Asia. I used diversity measures, percentage richness, taxonomic rates of origination and extinction, and estimates of body size overlap to compare and contrast the replacement patterns on the three continents. In addition to testing hypotheses of multituberculate extinction, I also tested how closely this extinction conforms to the predictions of the incumbent replacement model of competitive faunal replacement. I conclude in this study that, especially in the light of new data, competitive interaction stands as the most likely explanation for the disappearance of the Multituberculata in Europe and North America. I base this conclusion largely on the fact that I observe correlated rates of origination (rodents) and extinction (multituberculates) on both continents. The incumbent replacement model predicts this result and thus provides the best conceptual framework for understanding the global extinction of the multituberculates. I also find that substantial size overlap existed between the Multituberculata and Rodentia of North America and Europe. I infer this to suggest niche overlap and resource competition between these groups. Finally, I conclude that the decimation experienced by multituberculates at the end of the Cretaceous, especially in Asia, opened up niche space, into which the ancestors of rodents could radiate. These events set the stage for the eventual replacement of multituberculates by rodents in North America and Europe by providing an opportunity for rodents to establish themselves initially in Asia relatively free from competition with multituberculates.
John Hunter, PhD (Advisor)
William Ausich, PhD (Committee Member)
Laura Kubatko, PhD (Committee Member)
68 p.
Ecology; Paleoecology; Paleontology; Zoology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wood, D. J. (2010). The Extinction of the Multituberculates Outside North America: a Global Approach to Testing the Competition Model [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275595604

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wood, D. The Extinction of the Multituberculates Outside North America: a Global Approach to Testing the Competition Model. 2010. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275595604.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wood, D. "The Extinction of the Multituberculates Outside North America: a Global Approach to Testing the Competition Model." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275595604

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1275595604
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.