Calamari through time : exploring antagonistic biotic interactions victimizing cephalopods throughout geologic history
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Cephalopods, a class of marine mollusks that include octopods, squids, and cuttlefish, have existed in Earth's oceans since the Cambrian period. During that time, they have played the roles of both predator and prey as they fill in key ecological roles within their communities. However, exploring those roles from fossil assemblages creates key challenges due to a combination of taphonomic challenges and sampling biases. In this study, we explore traces of biotic interactions -- those that occur while all organisms involved in the interaction are living -- victimizing cephalopods. Specifically, we conduct a statistical meta-analysis based upon peer-reviewed publications dating back over a century to identify the prevalence of traces of parasitism and predation upon cephalopods as well as influences on the number of fossil occurrences. We also review changes in the genus-level biodiversity of cephalopods throughout deep time. We ultimately find that environmental factors including temperature and carbon dioxide levels can substantially influence both the prevalence and preservation of these interactions. However, we also advise caution in interpretation of these results, hoping they inspire further collection and analysis of cephalopod fossils for traces of interactions.
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M.S.