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Updated: May 8, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Evolutionary speed limits inferred from the fossil record.

James W Kirchner¹

¹Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley 94720-4767, USA. kirchner@seismo.berkeley.edu

|January 10, 2002

Summary

Extinction events can cause long-term biodiversity loss if species diversification cannot keep pace. This study reveals intrinsic speed limits on diversification, preventing rapid recovery after extinction pulses.

Area of Science:

Paleontology
Evolutionary Biology
Biodiversity Science

Background:

The long-term impact of extinction events on biodiversity depends on the interplay between extinction and diversification dynamics.
Rapid extinction pulses can lead to lasting biodiversity depletion if diversification rates cannot accelerate sufficiently to compensate.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether diversification rates can accelerate as rapidly as extinction rates over geological timescales.
To determine the variability of diversification and extinction rates at different time scales.

Main Methods:

Spectral analysis of the fossil record.
Comparison of the variability of diversification and extinction rates across various geological time spans.

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Main Results:

Diversification rates exhibit less variability than extinction rates at time scales shorter than approximately 25 million years.
While long-term variability of diversification can match or exceed extinctions, short-term acceleration is limited.

Conclusions:

Intrinsic biological or ecological constraints limit the maximum rate at which diversification can accelerate.
These speed limits suggest that extinction pulses have more persistent negative effects on biodiversity than previously assumed.