• NEWS AND VIEWS

The overlooked role of landscape dynamics in steering biodiversity

Scientists have long sought to understand what drives biodiversity changes. A study unifies ideas about marine and terrestrial biodiversity in one explanatory framework, pointing to physical geography as dictating life’s trajectory.
By
  1. Alexandre Pohl

    1. Alexandre Pohl is in Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, Université de Bourgogne, 21000 Dijon, France.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

Writing in Nature, Salles et al.1 present numerical simulations of changing continental landscapes during the past 540 million years, representing the high-resolution changes in surface elevation (topography) on land and the associated sedimentary fluxes resulting from the effect of interactions between climate and plate tectonics on landscape. In the simulations, the flux of sediments generated by the erosion of the continents and then delivered to the oceans mimics the pattern of long-term changes in marine biodiversity reconstructed from fossil data, and simulated sediment cover on the continents correlates with plant biodiversity on land. These results suggest that landscape dynamics modulates the number of species that Earth can support (carrying capacity), and ultimately has dictated the evolution of biodiversity in the oceans and on the continents over geological ages. In this way, the results reconcile, for the first time, the histories of marine and terrestrial biodiversity in a single theory.

Access options

Access through your institution

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 624, 48-49 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03536-y

References

  1. Salles, T., Husson, L., Lorcery, M. & Boggiani, B. H. Nature 624, 115–121 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Sepkoski, J. J., Bambach, R. K., Raup, D. M. & Valentine, J. W. Nature 293, 435–437 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Vermeij, G. J. Paleobiology 3, 245–258 (1977).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Cermeño, P. et al. Nature 607, 507–511 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hülse, D. et al. Nature Geosci. 14, 862–867 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hagen, O. et al. PLoS Biol. 19, e3001340 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ontiveros, D. E. et al. Nature Commun. 14, 6098 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Sepkoski, J. J., Jablonski, D. & Foote, M. J. A Compendium of Fossil Marine Animal Genera (Paleontological Research Institution, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Nildas, K. J., Tiffney, B. H. & Knoll, A. H. Nature 303, 614–616 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Insect Neuroscientist

    Pioneer the development of insect-based biorobots—join SWARM Biotactics as an Insect Neuroscientist.

    Kassel, Hessen (DE)

    SWARM Biotactics

  • Director of The Roslin Institute

    The University is looking for an exceptional individual to work with our Principal Investigators, professional services staff and technical support

    Edinburgh - Easter Bush Campus, Midlothian, United Kingdom (100% On-campus)

    The Roslin Institute

  • PhD Candidate (m/f/d): Analysis of Microscopic BIOMedical Images (AMBIOM)

    A new project area in the institute is the development of artificial intelligence (AI)

    Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)

    Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.

  • Director, Pharmacometrics

    Biogen is seeking a Director, Pharmacometrics to provide guidance on and execute advanced modeling strategies

    Remote (US)

    Biogen

  • Medical Director, Clinical Development, Immunology

    Biogen is seeking a Medical Director for the Immunology Therapeutic Area within the Clinical Development Organization.

    Cambridge, Massachusetts (US)

    Biogen

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing