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The Ordovician Radiation: Macroevolutionary Crossroads of the Phanerozoic

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Earth and Life

Part of the book series: International Year of Planet Earth ((IYPE))

Abstract

The Ordovician Radiation although noted for being one of the most important intervals of global diversification of life is less well known for the part it plays in paleoecological behavioral and molecular aspects of the development of life. This chapter seeks to document the features and uniqueness of the Ordovician Radiation with respect to its effects on diversity at all levels and to review the gamut of mechanisms suggested as causes of the Ordovician Radiation.

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Acknowledgments

My research on the Ordovician Radiation and broader themes in the history of Phanerozoic diversity has been generously funded over the years by a series of research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Program in Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology and a grant from the National Science Foundation Program in Biocomplexity. I am very grateful to John Talent for the invitation to contribute a chapter to this volume.

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  1. Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0013, USA

    Arnold I. Miller

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  1. Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, Australia

    John A. Talent

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Miller, A.I. (2012). The Ordovician Radiation: Macroevolutionary Crossroads of the Phanerozoic. In: Talent, J.A. (eds) Earth and Life. International Year of Planet Earth. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3428-1_11

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