The origin and evolutionary histories of the two most abundant and diverse genera of invertebrates (Prosserella: Brachiopoda and Syringostroma: Stromatoporoidea) in the Detroit River Group and associated rocks in the vicinity of the Michigan Basin appear to support the models of either allopatric speciation and punctuated equilibria (Eldredge and Gould, 1972) or quantum evolution (Simpson, 1944; 1953). Four morphotypes of Prosserella arose almost simultaneously (a “burst”) just below the base of the Detroit River in sandstone deposited near the axis of the Findlay Arch and persisted without evidence of significant progressive evolutionary change (a “trend”) until their almost simultaneous extinction by lineage termination near the top of the Detroit River. Neither ancestors nor descendants of Prosserella have been recognized and even the familial placement of the genus is uncertain. The genus, its species and morphotypes probably arose by means of very profound genetic or chromosomal “revolutions” that probably took place in small allopatric populations; each population quickly increased in abundance and geographic range and persisted without further significant morphologic modification until its extinction.

S. ristigouchense from the Lower Devonian of New Brunswick is the probable ancestor to six (or seven) species of Syringostroma that appear almost simultaneously (another “burst”) in lower Detroit River carbonate rocks deposited near the eastern margin of the Michigan Basin. Two of these new species are known only from reefs of early Detroit River age (a “crash”), four species persist without significant morphological change to at least the end of Detroit River deposition, and one of these was the probable ancestor to yet another newly evolved species that is abundantly represented in the conformably overlying Columbus Limestone.

The “founding fathers” of chronostratigraphy were pre-Darwinian and based their concepts and methods on assemblages of co-occurring taxa of unknown phylogenetic relations (assemblage-zones, concurrent range-zones and Oppel-zones) rather than on the range-zones of successional species in the same phylogenetic lineage (lineage-zones). Assumptions of these early biostratigraphers concerning the temporal relations of taxa are in close accord with the premises of punctuated equilibria and quantum evolution. The development of the chronostratigraphic system during the 19th century attests to the success of these early methods which depend for their precision on the number of taxa used and determination of the significance of morphologic differences among these taxa and their geographic and stratigraphic distributions.

Given estimates of the variation in total standing species richness through the periods of the Phanerozoic, mean species duration, and the relative intensity of the sampling of the fauna from each of the periods, the expected number of described species can be predicted for each period of the Phanerozoic using an analytic sampling model. This model is based on the assumption that the relative abundances of species in any geologic period can be approximated by the canonical (lognormal) species-abundance distribution.

Three commonly cited models of standing species richness (Valentine, 1973; Gould et al., 1977; Bambach, 1977) each suggest different patterns of species richness in the Phanerozoic. By assuming that sampling of the fossil record is proportionate to sediment volume, it can be shown with the sampling model that the Empirical, Equilibrium, and Species-Richness Models each predict that the number of described species will be strongly correlated with sediment volume. Equally high correlations are predicted if it is assumed that sampling is proportionate to sediment area or to paleontological interest. The correlations predicted for each of the three models are remarkably similar. The impact of sampling effects is so strong that the variations in species richness postulated by these three models are almost completely obscured. Preservational biases will probably only further obscure the relationship between the number of described species and total species richness. Therefore, it seems likely that analysis of trends in the total number of described species will be of little use in determining trends in worldwide species richness in the Phanerozoic.

Comparison of the actual patterns of variation in the number of described species and the expected numbers of described species predicted by the sampling model reveals that more species are known from the Cenozoic than would be predicted from the abundance of Cenozoic sediments or from the amount of paleontological interest in the Cenozoic. This might have resulted from the Cenozoic sediments remaining relatively free of diagenetic effects which might have destroyed the fossils entombed in the sediments.

The shape of bryozoan taxonomic survivorship curves is strongly influenced both by grade of morphologic complexity and by mass extinction. Paleozoic bryozoan genera that are morphologically simple have linear taxonomic survivorship; morphologically intermediate taxa have slightly concave survivorship, and complex forms have very concave survivorship. Increasing morphologic complexity, and by inference, increasing specialization of adaptation appear to accompany a systematic departure from a stochastically constant extinction rate. However, the extinctions of the complex taxa are entirely concentrated during three mass extinction events, whereas the extinctions of the simple taxa are more uniformly distributed throughout the Paleozoic; the extinction pattern of the morphologically intermediate taxa is intermediate to those of the simple and complex groups. Exclusion of the genera affected by mass extinction increases the convexity of the survivorship curves, and reverses the apparent correlation of extinction rate with morphologic complexity. The macroevolutionary pattern of the complex genera resembles an r-strategy, whereas that of the simple taxa resembles a K-strategy.

Measurement of the compressive strength and elastic modulus of the skeletal material of three common Caribbean corals suggests that the mechanical properties of coral skeleton are an important factor in the adaptive repertoire of these animals. The strength (stress at fracture) of the specimens tested is 12–81 meganewtons/meter2, with material from branched colonies being generally stronger than material from massive colonies. These values are lower than the strength of most other carbonate skeletal materials, but higher than that of carbonate engineering materials like concrete and limestone. The comparatively low strength of coral skeleton may be the result of architectural properties produced by the requirements of competing adaptive factors, such as polyp phototropism, or it may reflect the low probability that a colony will be broken, and therefore need to be stronger, before it achieves reproductive parity. The skeleton of the three species tested here is strongest when stress is applied parallel to the growth direction of the polyps. Strength varies inversely with skeletal porosity. Decreasing porosity in highly stressed colonies represents a potentially valuable adaptation for enhancing strength. The adaptive value of porosity modification may explain differences in porosity and strength between highly stressed branched growth forms and more moderately stressed massive growth forms. Boring organisms reduce the strength of coral skeleton by increasing its porosity. Only minor amounts of boring can produce strength reductions of up to 50%. Specialized, stress-minimizing branch arrangements help maximize resistance of coral structures to mechanical degradation in situations where colony size is unusually large or hydraulic energy dangerously high.

The intensity of drilling predation was studied on samples of fossil and Recent species of Turritella, a soft-bottom mesogastropod mollusc. Our data and records in the literature show that the frequency of drilling has remained about the same from the Eocene to the present. There may have been less predation by drilling during the Late Cretaceous. Among living Turritella, there is a sharp increase in intensity of drilling predation from the temperate zones to the tropics. This latitudinal trend is paralleled by an equatorward increase in number of species of drilling gastropods. Strong spiral ribs of some Eocene, Miocene, and Recent species of Turritella confer protection against drilling, but the mechanism of this immunity remains unclear.