187 Phylogenetic and Computational Approaches in Paleobiology and Paleoecology (Posters)

This session highlights recent advances integrating phylogenetics, modeling, and computational methods with fossil data to address evolutionary and ecological questions through deep time. Topics include macroevolutionary trends, diversification dynamics, trait evolution, macroecology, and paleobiogeography.

Tuesday, 21 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Comparative biogeography of Paleozoic invertebrates

Paper number: 187-0
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Large climatic shifts occurred across the Paleozoic Era, influencing the evolutionary trajectories of biodiversity across some of the largest radiations and extinction events known on Earth. In this study, we explore the biogeographic patterns of trilobites, echinoderms, and brachiopods published in previous analyses spanning the Paleozoic through an evolutionary framework. We subjected these datasets to analyses using parsimony and maximum likelihood in PAUP* and noted any differences in the resulting tree topology compared to previously published works. We then used primary literature and paleontological databases to constrain the stratigraphic ranges and basins of origin of each taxon included in the trees. We incorporated these phylogenetic and stratigraphic data into RevBayes to infer fully-bifurcating phylogenetic hypotheses. We took the resulting phylogenetic estimations and associated biogeographic data from each analysis and imported them into the R package ‘BioGeoBEARS’. We performed a biogeographic analysis for each tree topology using biogeographic stochastic mapping within ‘BioGeoBEARS’ in order to examine biogeographic range shifts, ancestral area relationships, and the types and directions of speciation through the study interval. We performed statistical analyses to determine the most supported biogeographic models for each dataset. We then compared the results from each analysis to explore the variation in biogeographic patterns across different invertebrate groups, specifically looking at the dispersal to distinct basins, the rate and directions in which taxa dispersed, and when in geologic time these events occurred. Results indicate that jump dispersal played an important role in many of these groups’ evolutionary history, which supports previous work on early Paleozoic marine invertebrate groups. Results also indicate that many of the taxa utilized the same oceanic currents to disperse. Exploration of these results can further inform us of the oceanic and epicontinental currents that facilitated these dispersal patterns and better explore the drivers that may have contributed to the differential extinction, diversification, and paleoecological patterns across marine invertebrate groups.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412332

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