Patterson, R.T., Fowler, A.D., and Huber, B., 2004. Evidence of Hierarchical Organization in the Planktic Foraminiferal Evolutionary Record. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, v. 34 (2), p. 85-95. (Please note: There are some transcription errors in the published biostratigraphic chart that have been corrected in a revised biostratigraphic chart. Please do not use the chart from the original publication. A complete description of the corrections is included in the errata document Patterson et al. 2005. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, v. 35, p. 83). The revised chart is also available from the Cushman Foundation data repository at: http://www.cushmanfoundation.org/jfr/jfrdata.html
The Wavelet Transform was used to analyze the evolutionary record of planktic foraminifera to distinguish specific structure not previously resolvable. Both the speciation and extinction wavelets are characterized by a major singularity at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary when there was a total breakdown in the interconnectedness of ecosystems related to sharply reduced diversity following the Chicxulub impact event. The speciation wavelet is also characterized by an interval consisting of a hierarchical array comprised of five orders of bifurcation related to repeated iterative radiation of species from the Albian to Maastrichtian. These planktic foraminiferal extinction patterns were related to quasi-periodic orogenic cycles of the Cretaceous that in turn produced episodic mantle CO2-degassing, oceanic volcanism and anoxia, and sea level fluctuations. We therefore hypothesize that the hierarchical structure we observe is a reflection of this process in an otherwise stochastic system.