A Practical Guide to Phylogenetic Paleoecology

The burgeoning field of phylogenetic paleoecology combines paleoecological data with hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships to tease apart the roles that ecology and relatedness both play in the evolution and function of an organism. The purpose of this review is to make phylogenetic paleontology more accessible to a wider array of scientists and attract new researchers to the discipline. Herein, we use recently published analyses of a diverse array of fossil animals (e.g., arthropods, echinoderms, and carnivorans) to better illustrate the breadth of research questions that can be studied using phylogenetic paleoecology. Phylogenetic paleoecology has been used to discern drivers of morphological change and variations in evolutionary rates, along with the relationship between phylogeny, biogeography, and ecology. Additional avenues of research could focus on modularity and mosaicism in evolution, as well as the impact of mass extinctions and adaptive radiations. By encouraging a greater diversity of scientific backgrounds and plurality of thought, and by incorporating new perspectives from different areas of both geology and biology, the field of phylogenetic paleoecology will lead to the consideration of new questions, avenues, and possibilities that would otherwise go unexplored.