Mammalian turnover and community structure in the Paleocene of North America

Abstract

The effects of faunal turnover on mammalian community structure are evaluated for 17 faunal zones of the North American Paleocene through early Eocene land mammal ages (Puercan through early Wasatchian). Generic disappearances were significantly high at the end of the Puercan, Torrejonian, and Tiffanian land mammal ages, but appearances were significantly high only during the early Puercan. Generic richness rose rapidly in the early Puercan, remained stable throughout most of the Paleocene, and increased from the late Paleocene into the early Eocene. The null hypothesis that generic turnover clustered preferentially according to dentally defined trophic or body size categories could be rejected or attributed to sampling problems for all but the early (Pu0) and late Paleocene (Ti5‐Cf2). Early Paleocene change in community structure most probably represented endemic radiation of mammals into previously unoccupied niches. Community restructuring in the late Paleocene reflected a complex of causes, including climatic wanning, intercontinental dispersal, and competition.