Increasing returns, ecological feedback and the Early Triassic recovery

Most models of biotic recovery following mass extinction generally invoke logistic growth, with increasing competition due to resource competition eventually causing a decline in the rate of increase in diversity. Yet one of the most interesting aspects of recoveries is the acquisition of new resources and the expansion of diversity. In other words, the carrying capacity of the ecosystem increases, a process not captured by logistic models. Insights from theories of economic growth, particularly of the sources of economic innovation, suggest an important role for the spillover effects of particular types of ecosystem engineering. The positive feedback effects of these spillovers allow the rapid expansion of biodiversity, as is seen during the late Early Triassic phase of biotic recovery.