About

Michael J. Foote is a professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Geophysical Sciences. His research interests include documenting and interpreting large-scale patterns in the history of life, with current focuses on biogeography, evolutionary paleoecology, and macroevolution. Foote has contributed to understanding ecological structures of diversity-dependent diversification in marine bivalves, diversity-dependent evolutionary rates in early Palaeozoic zooplankton, and the evolutionary dynamics of taxonomic structure. His work also includes studies on the rise and fall of species occupancy in Cenozoic fossil mollusks and determinants of extinction in the fossil record. His publications are widely cited, and he collaborates with other researchers in related fields.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Paleontology
• Business
• Evolutionary biology
• Geography
• Geology

Selected publications

• Ecological structure of diversity-dependent diversification in Phanerozoic marine bivalves

  Biology Letters · 2024 · 19 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Ecology
  • Paleontology

  Rigorous analysis of diversity-dependence-the hypothesis that the rate of proliferation of new species is inversely related to standing diversity-requires consideration of the ecology of the organisms in question. Differences between infaunal marine bivalves (living entirely within the sediment) and epifaunal forms (living partially or completely above the sediment-water interface) predict that these major ecological groups should have different diversity dynamics: epifaunal species may compete more intensely for space and be more susceptible to predation and physical disturbance. By comparing detrended standing diversity with rates of diversification, origination, and extinction in this exceptional fossil record, we find that epifaunal bivalves experienced significant, negative diversity-dependence in origination and net diversification, whereas infaunal forms show little appreciable relationship between diversity and evolutionary rates. This macroevolutionary contrast is robust to the time span over which dynamics are analysed, whether mass-extinction rebounds are included in the analysis, the treatment of stratigraphic ranges that are not maximally resolved, and the details of detrending. We also find that diversity-dependence persists over hundreds of millions of years, even though diversity itself rises nearly exponentially, belying the notion that diversity-dependence must imply equilibrial diversity dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• Table S1: Geological time scale used for this study from Ecological structure of diversity-dependent diversification in Phanerozoic marine bivalves

  Figshare · 2023-01-01

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Rigorous analysis of diversity-dependence—the hypothesis that the rate of proliferation of new species is inversely related to standing diversity—requires consideration of the ecology of the organisms in question. Differences between infaunal marine bivalves (living entirely within the sediment) and epifaunal forms (living partially or completely above the sediment-water interface) predict that these major ecological groups should have different diversity dynamics: epifaunal species may compete more intensely for space and be more susceptible to predation and physical disturbance. By comparing detrended standing diversity with rates of diversification, origination, and extinction in this exceptional fossil record, we find that epifaunal bivalves experienced significant, negative diversity-dependence in origination and net diversification, whereas infaunal forms show little appreciable relationship between diversity and evolutionary rates. This macroevolutionary contrast is robust to the time span over which dynamics are analysed, whether mass-extinction rebounds are included in the analysis, the treatment of stratigraphic ranges that are not maximally resolved, and the details of detrending. We also find that diversity-dependence persists over hundreds of millions of years, even though diversity itself rises nearly exponentially, belying the notion that diversity-dependence must imply equilibrial diversity dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• R code used for this study from Ecological structure of diversity-dependent diversification in Phanerozoic marine bivalves

  Figshare · 2023-01-01

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Rigorous analysis of diversity-dependence—the hypothesis that the rate of proliferation of new species is inversely related to standing diversity—requires consideration of the ecology of the organisms in question. Differences between infaunal marine bivalves (living entirely within the sediment) and epifaunal forms (living partially or completely above the sediment-water interface) predict that these major ecological groups should have different diversity dynamics: epifaunal species may compete more intensely for space and be more susceptible to predation and physical disturbance. By comparing detrended standing diversity with rates of diversification, origination, and extinction in this exceptional fossil record, we find that epifaunal bivalves experienced significant, negative diversity-dependence in origination and net diversification, whereas infaunal forms show little appreciable relationship between diversity and evolutionary rates. This macroevolutionary contrast is robust to the time span over which dynamics are analysed, whether mass-extinction rebounds are included in the analysis, the treatment of stratigraphic ranges that are not maximally resolved, and the details of detrending. We also find that diversity-dependence persists over hundreds of millions of years, even though diversity itself rises nearly exponentially, belying the notion that diversity-dependence must imply equilibrial diversity dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary text, figures S1–S3, and tables S3–S4 from Ecological structure of diversity-dependent diversification in Phanerozoic marine bivalves

  Figshare · 2023-01-01

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Rigorous analysis of diversity-dependence—the hypothesis that the rate of proliferation of new species is inversely related to standing diversity—requires consideration of the ecology of the organisms in question. Differences between infaunal marine bivalves (living entirely within the sediment) and epifaunal forms (living partially or completely above the sediment-water interface) predict that these major ecological groups should have different diversity dynamics: epifaunal species may compete more intensely for space and be more susceptible to predation and physical disturbance. By comparing detrended standing diversity with rates of diversification, origination, and extinction in this exceptional fossil record, we find that epifaunal bivalves experienced significant, negative diversity-dependence in origination and net diversification, whereas infaunal forms show little appreciable relationship between diversity and evolutionary rates. This macroevolutionary contrast is robust to the time span over which dynamics are analysed, whether mass-extinction rebounds are included in the analysis, the treatment of stratigraphic ranges that are not maximally resolved, and the details of detrending. We also find that diversity-dependence persists over hundreds of millions of years, even though diversity itself rises nearly exponentially, belying the notion that diversity-dependence must imply equilibrial diversity dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• Diversity-Dependent Diversification in the History of Marine Animals

  The American Naturalist · 2022 · 26 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Ecology
  • Geography

  AbstractBy comparing detrended estimates of diversity (taxonomic richness) and rates of origination, extinction, and net diversification, I show that at the global scale over the course of the Phanerozoic eon, rates of diversification and origination are negatively correlated with diversity. By contrast, extinction rates are only weakly correlated with diversity for the most part. These results hold for both genus- and species-level data and for many alternative analytical protocols. The asymmetry between extinction on the one hand and origination and net diversification on the other hand supports a model whereby extinction is largely driven by abiotic perturbations, with subsequent origination filling the void left by depleted diversity. Diversity dependence is somewhat weaker, but still evident, if the initial Ordovician radiation or rebounds from major mass extinctions are omitted from analysis; thus, diversity dependence is influenced, but not dominated, by these special intervals of Earth history. In the transition from Paleozoic to post-Paleozoic time, diversity dependence of origination weakens while that of extinction strengthens; however, diversity dependence of net diversification barely changes in strength. Despite nuances, individual clades largely yield results consistent with those for the aggregate data on all animals. On the whole, diversity-dependent diversification appears to be a pervasive factor in the macroevolution of marine animal life.

  PublisherDOI

• Ephemeral species in the fossil record? Synchronous coupling of macroevolutionary dynamics in mid-Paleozoic zooplankton

  Paleobiology · 2020 · 18 citations

  • Paleontology
  • Ecology
  • Geology

  Abstract We document a positive and strong correlation between speciation and extinction rates in the Paleozoic zooplankton graptoloid clade, between 481 and 419 Ma. This correlation has a magnitude of ~0.35–0.45 and manifests at a temporal resolution of <50 kyr and, for part of our data set, <25 kyr. It cannot be explained as an artifact of the method used to measure rates, sampling bias, bias resulting from construction of the time series, autocorrelation, underestimation of species durations, or undetected phyletic evolution. Correlations are approximately equal during the Ordovician and Silurian, despite the very different speciation and extinction regimes prevailing during these two periods, and correlation is strongest in the shortest-lived cohorts of species. We infer that this correlation reflects approximately synchronous coupling of speciation and extinction in the graptoloids on timescales of a few tens of thousands of years. Almost half of graptoloid species in our data set have durations of <0.5 Myr, and previous studies have demonstrated that, during times of background extinction, short-lived species were selectively targeted by extinction. These observations may be consistent with the model of ephemeral speciation, whereby new species are inferred to form constantly and at high rate, but most of them disappear rapidly through extinction or reabsorption into the ancestral lineage. Diversity dependence with a lag of ~1 Myr, also documented elsewhere, may reflect a subsequent and relatively slow, competitive dynamic that governed those species that dispersed beyond their originating water mass and escaped the ephemeral species filter.

  PublisherDOI

• Completeness of the known graptoloid palaeontological record

  Journal of the Geological Society · 2019-06-21 · 16 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Using a high-resolution chronology of graptoloid first and last appearances, we apply mathematical models that allow the simultaneous inference of the probability distribution of species durations and the effective sampling rate relating those durations to the observed stratigraphic ranges. This approach allows the completeness of the documented palaeontological record of graptoloids to be assessed. We estimate that c. 75% of species in the geographical regions that contribute to the stratigraphic data have been sampled and that, of those species known from more than a single stratigraphic horizon, c. 85% of their original durations, on average, are represented by their global composite stratigraphic ranges. As expected in light of their biostratigraphic importance, graptoloids have one of the most completely documented records among groups of fossil organisms. We expect that application of the methods used herein will show comparably complete records for other biostratigraphically relevant groups. Supplementary material: The R code and data are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4547174

  PublisherDOI

• Stratigraphic ranges of Silurian species. Completeness of the known graptoloid palaeontological record

  Figshare · 2019-01-01

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Stratigraphic ranges of Silurian species.

  PublisherDOI

• Peer Review #2 of "Enforced symmetry: the necessity of symmetric waxing and waning (v0.1)"

  2019-11-06

  peer-reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  A fundamental question in ecology is how the success of a taxon changes through time and what drives this change. This question is commonly approached using trajectories averaged over a group of taxa. Using results from probability theory, we show analytically and using examples that averaged trajectories will be more symmetric as the number of averaged trajectories increases, even if none of the original trajectories they were derived from is symmetric. This effect is not only based on averaging, but also on the introduction of noise and the incorporation of a priori known origination and extinction times. This implies that averaged trajectories are not suitable for deriving information about the processes driving the success of taxa. In particular, symmetric waxing and waning, which is commonly observed and interpreted to be linked to a number of different paleobiological processes, does not allow drawing any conclusions about the nature of the underlying process.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• R Code. Completeness of the known graptoloid palaeontological record

  Figshare · 2019-01-01

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  R Code.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Mark E. Patzkowsky

  Pennsylvania State University

  202 shared

• Wolfgang Kiessling

  178 shared

• David J. Bottjer

  177 shared

• Martin Aberhan

  Museum für Naturkunde

  177 shared

• James S. Crampton

  151 shared

• Arnold I. Miller

  University of Cincinnati

  145 shared

• Richard K. Bambach

  138 shared

• Shanan E. Peters

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  131 shared

Labs

• University of Chicago Geophysical SciencesPI