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Published Online June 12, 2003
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1085075

Reports

Submitted on March 31, 2003
Accepted on May 28, 2003

Estimating the Rock Volume Bias in Paleobiodiversity Studies

James S. Crampton 1*, Alan G. Beu 1, Roger A. Cooper 1, Craig M. Jones 1, Bruce Marshall 2, Phillip A. Maxwell 3

1 Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Post Office Box 30-368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
2 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Post Office Box 467, Wellington, New Zealand.
3 Bathgates Road, R.D. 10, Waimate, South Canterbury, New Zealand.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.crampton{at}gns.cri.nz.

In order to interpret changes in biodiversity through geological time, it is necessary first to correct for biases in sampling effort related to variations in the exposure of rocks and recovery of fossils with age. Data from New Zealand indicate that outcrop area is likely to be a reliable proxy of rock volume in both stable cratonic regions, where the paleobiodiversity record is strongly correlated with relative sea-level, and on tectonically active margins. In contrast, another potential proxy, the number of rock formations, is a poor predictor of outcrop area or sampling effort in the New Zealand case.


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