eCommons

 

Self-organized criticality, evolution, and extinction

Other Titles

Abstract

Statistical analysis indicates that the fossil exctinction record is compatible with a distribution of extinction events whose frequency is related to their size by a power law with exponent tau approx. = 2. This result is in agreement with preductions based on self-organized critical models of extinction, and might well be taken as evidence for self-organizing behavior in terrestrial evolution. We argue however that there is a much simpler explanation for the appearance of a power law in terms of extinctions caused by stresses (either biotic or abiotic) to which species are subjected by their environment. We give an explicit model of this process and discussits properties and implications for the interpretation of the fossil record.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

1996-06

Publisher

Cornell University

Keywords

theory center

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Degree Discipline

Degree Name

Degree Level

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

http://techreports.library.cornell.edu:8081/Dienst/UI/1.0/Display/cul.tc/96-247

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

technical report

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record