Data from: Regional and environmental variation in escalatory ecological trends during the Jurassic: a western Tethys hotspot for escalation?

Understanding the drivers of macroevolutionary trends through the Phanerozoic has been a central question in paleobiology. Increasingly important is understanding the regional and environmental variation of macroevolutionary patterns and how they are reflected at the global scale. Here we test the role of biotic interactions on regional ecological patterns during the Mesozoic marine revolution. We test for escalatory trends in Jurassic marine benthic macroinvertebrate ecosystems using occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database parsed by region and environment. The escalation hypothesis posits that taxonomic groups that could adapt to intense predation and bioturbation proliferated, whereas groups unable to adapt were reduced in diversity and abundance or driven to extinction. We tested this hypothesis in five regions during Jurassic stages and among four depositional environments in Europe. Few escalatory trends were detected, although at least one escalatory trend was observed in every region, with the greatest number and strongest trends observed in Europe. These trends include increases in shallow infauna and cementing epifauna and occurrences of facultatively mobile invertebrates and decreases in pedunculate, free-lying, and sessile epifauna. Within Europe, escalatory trends occur in shallow-water environments but also in deeper-water environments, where they are predicted not to occur. When regional trends are aggregated, trends in Europe drive the global signal. The results of this study suggest that while evidence of escalation is rare globally, it is plausible that escalation drove macroevolutionary patterns in Europe. Furthermore, these results underline the need to dissect global fossil data at the regional scale to understand global macroevolutionary dynamics.阐明显生宙（Phanerozoic）以来宏观演化趋势的驱动机制，始终是古生物学研究的核心议题。而解析宏观演化模式的区域与环境差异，及其如何在全球尺度上得以体现，其重要性也与日俱增。本研究针对中生代海洋革命（Mesozoic Marine Revolution）期间的区域生态模式，检验生物交互作用的影响。我们依托古生物学数据库（Paleobiology Database）中按区域与环境分类的化石产出数据，对侏罗纪海洋底栖大型无脊椎动物生态系统的升级趋势进行检验。升级假说（escalation hypothesis）提出：能够适应强捕食与生物扰动作用的类群会得以繁盛，而无法适应的类群则会出现多样性与丰度下降，乃至灭绝。本研究在侏罗纪世期的五个区域，以及欧洲的四种沉积环境中对该假说进行了验证。尽管所有区域均至少观测到1项升级趋势，且欧洲的升级趋势数量最多、强度最高，但整体而言此类趋势的检出率并不高。此类趋势包括浅栖内生动物（shallow infauna）、固着表生动物（cementing epifauna）的丰度上升，兼性移动无脊椎动物的出现，同时伴随具柄、自由栖息与固着表生动物的丰度下降。在欧洲范围内，升级趋势不仅出现于浅水环境，还出现在原本被认为不会发生此类趋势的深水环境中。当将区域趋势汇总整合后，欧洲的演化趋势主导了全球尺度的宏观演化信号。本研究结果表明，尽管全球范围内升级效应的证据较为稀缺，但欧洲地区的宏观演化模式极有可能由升级效应驱动。此外，本研究结果也强调，若要阐明全球宏观演化的动态机制，需从区域尺度对全球化石数据进行拆解分析。