Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Science. 2011 May 6;332(6030):705-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1200043. Epub 2011 Apr 14.
Variation in daily activity patterns facilitates temporal partitioning of habitat and resources among species. Knowledge of temporal niche partitioning in paleobiological systems has been limited by the difficulty of obtaining reliable information about activity patterns from fossils. On the basis of an analysis of scleral ring and orbit morphology in 33 archosaurs, including dinosaurs and pterosaurs, we show that the eyes of Mesozoic archosaurs were adapted to all major types of diel activity (that is, nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral) and provide concrete evidence of temporal niche partitioning in the Mesozoic. Similar to extant amniotes, flyers were predominantly diurnal; terrestrial predators, at least partially, nocturnal; and large herbivores, cathemeral. These similarities suggest that ecology drives the evolution of diel activity patterns.
日常活动模式的变化有助于物种在时间上对栖息地和资源进行划分。古生物学系统中时间生态位划分的知识受到从化石中获取有关活动模式可靠信息的困难的限制。基于对包括恐龙和翼龙在内的 33 种恐龙的巩膜环和眼眶形态的分析，我们表明中生代恐龙的眼睛适应了所有主要的昼夜活动类型（即夜间、白天和昼夜），并为中生代的时间生态位划分提供了具体证据。与现生羊膜动物相似，飞行生物主要是昼行性的；陆生捕食者至少部分是夜行性的；而大型草食动物则是昼夜活动的。这些相似性表明，生态学推动了昼夜活动模式的进化。
