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The Biology of Rarity pp 110–129Cite as

How do rare species avoid extinction? A paleontological view

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Part of the Population and Community Biology Series book series (PCBS,volume 17)

Abstract

One of the ways that rare species may qualitatively differ from common species is through extinction (exit) biases. The set of rare species may be biased by the selective elimination of species that cannot persist at low abundances (Kunin and Gaston, 1993). This chapter reviews the large paleontological literature on extinction for evidence that some rare species are more prone to extinction than others and for evidence about which traits promote such extinction-proneness. It will show that there is fossil evidence about both aspects. This evidence indicates that the set of rare species (however defined) is indeed biased in favour of those species with traits that promote species longevity by being resistant and/or resilient to disturbances. Traits that will be seen as promoting species longevity, and could operate in rare species, include widespread geographical range (for species that are locally sparse), wide niche breadth, morphological and behavioural simplicity, detritivory (and a suite of other traits in marine organisms) and small body size. The evidence for these traits is, as yet, only suggestive because of sampling problems in the fossil record, especially with rare species. But growing paleontological interest in extinction selectivity, especially at finer taxonomic scales, will provide ways to refine the evidence discussed here.

Keywords

  • Rare Species
  • Fossil Record
  • Mass Extinction
  • Extinction Rate
  • Small Body Size

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors
  1. Michael L. McKinney
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    William E. Kunin (Lecturer in Ecology) (Lecturer in Ecology)

  2. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Kevin J. Gaston (Royal Society University Research Fellow) (Royal Society University Research Fellow)

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McKinney, M.L. (1997). How do rare species avoid extinction? A paleontological view. In: Kunin, W.E., Gaston, K.J. (eds) The Biology of Rarity. Population and Community Biology Series, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5874-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5874-9_7

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