Cope’s rule in evolutionary biology
E686176
Cope’s rule in evolutionary biology is the hypothesis that animal lineages tend to evolve toward larger body sizes over geological time.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Cope’s rule | 0 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
evolutionary hypothesis
ⓘ
macroecological pattern ⓘ |
| analyzedWith |
random walk models with directional trend
ⓘ
statistical models of trait evolution ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
animal lineages
ⓘ
fossil taxa ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
enhanced competitive ability in larger organisms
ⓘ
greater fecundity in larger organisms ⓘ increased predation resistance in larger organisms ⓘ |
| challengedBy | counterexamples of size decrease in some lineages ⓘ |
| concerns |
body size evolution
ⓘ
macroevolutionary trends ⓘ |
| contextDependentOn |
ecological conditions
ⓘ
environmental stability ⓘ resource availability ⓘ |
| contradictedBy | dwarfing events following environmental change ⓘ |
| describes | tendency of animal lineages to evolve larger body size over geological time ⓘ |
| discussedIn | macroevolutionary theory literature ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom | passive increase in maximum size due to variance expansion ⓘ |
| field |
evolutionary biology
ⓘ
paleobiology ⓘ |
| hasImplication |
average body size within a clade may increase through time
ⓘ
evolutionary trends can be directional at macroevolutionary scales ⓘ |
| influencedBy | Edward Drinker Cope’s observations on vertebrate fossils ⓘ |
| involves |
directional selection on body size
ⓘ
ecological advantages of large body size ⓘ trade‑offs associated with large body size ⓘ |
| limitedBy |
extinction risk of large‑bodied species
ⓘ
physiological constraints on maximum body size ⓘ |
| moreStronglySupportedIn |
some mammalian lineages
ⓘ
some marine invertebrate lineages ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Edward Drinker Cope NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notUniversallyObservedIn | all clades ⓘ |
| originatedInCentury | 19th century ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Bergmann’s rule
ⓘ
macroecological body size distributions ⓘ |
| relevantTo |
ecosystem structure over deep time
ⓘ
extinction selectivity by body size ⓘ understanding long‑term biodiversity patterns ⓘ |
| requiresEvidenceOf | systematic directional increase in mean body size ⓘ |
| status |
empirically debated
ⓘ
hypothesis ⓘ |
| supportedBy | some fossil record analyses ⓘ |
| testedUsing |
fossil time series of body size
ⓘ
phylogenetic comparative methods ⓘ |
| timeScale | geological time ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.