Towards a unified framework to study causality in Earth-life systems

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Geology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Understanding the causation between Earth processes and biodiversity is a significant scientific challenge.
• Landscape features and geological events are hypothesized to deterministically influence species diversification and distribution.
• Collinear variables often complicate the study of how Earth processes shape biological patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate the utility of causal structures for depicting cause-effect relationships between Earth processes and biological patterns.
• To illustrate how causal diagrams can refine hypotheses and mitigate misattribution of causality in ecological and evolutionary studies.
• To advance a systems-level understanding of Earth-life interactions and the drivers of biodiversity.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing causal structures to represent cause-effect relationships between geological processes and biological patterns.
• Applying causal diagrams to recent literature examples focusing on speciation and species richness in montane environments.
• Abstracting knowledge into structural equation metamodels for broader theory formulation in Earth-life systems.

Main Results:

• Causal structures effectively depict the deterministic influence of regional Earth processes on species diversification and distribution.
• The application of causal diagrams aids in deciphering complex cause-effect relationships and generates novel hypotheses.
• Structural equation metamodels facilitate the development of overarching theories for Earth-life systems.

Conclusions:

• Causal structures provide a robust framework for collaborative research between Earth scientists and biologists.
• This approach helps to accurately assign causality in studies of biodiversity patterns.
• The framework advances a comprehensive understanding of how landscape features and Earth processes drive species distribution and diversification.