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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
07:37
Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
Published on: January 19, 2018
What can we learn about ecology and evolution from the fossil record?
Jeremy B C Jackson1, Douglas H Erwin
1Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0244, USA. jbjackson@ucsd.edu
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|June 14, 2006
Summary
Paleontologists use detailed environmental data to study deep time ecological and evolutionary changes. The fossil record reveals surprising community stability and long dormancy periods for major evolutionary innovations.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Deep Time Ecology
Background:
- Ecological and evolutionary dynamics in deep time are increasingly studied using abundance data within precise environmental contexts.
- Recent findings challenge traditional views on ecological stability and evolutionary innovation timelines.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the dynamics and processes of ecological and evolutionary change in deep time.
- To investigate the stability of ecological communities and the evolutionary trajectories of major innovations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of fossil records integrated with detailed environmental data.
- Examination of community membership persistence through geological time, including Ice Age periods.
- Tracking the temporal patterns of evolutionary novelties and their subsequent diversification.
Main Results:
- Ecological communities demonstrate greater stability and persistence than predicted by chance, even during extreme environmental shifts like the Ice Ages.
- Significant evolutionary novelties often remain dormant for extended periods (millions of years) before undergoing rapid diversification (ecological explosions).
Conclusions:
- The fossil record is indispensable for rigorously addressing complex questions about long-term ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
- Understanding deep time ecological and evolutionary processes requires integrating abundance data with environmental context and paleontological evidence.
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