Fig. 4: The solution landscape.

Alluvial diagram comparing the four-phase reference solution against alternative solutions obtained from bootstrapped networks. Vertical stacks connected by streamlines represent the networks. In each stack, a block represents nodes clustered into a module or mega-assemblage. Streamlines connect modules that contain the same nodes. The height of the streamline is proportional to the number of shared nodes between the connected modules. Splitting or merging streamlines indicate biotic transitions. The bootstrap strategy demonstrate high robustness of the four mega-assemblages in the reference solution (Supplementary Table 1), supporting the global biotic transitions delineated at the end-Cambrian, end-Permian, and mid-Cretaceous. The bootstrapped solutions also capture the small effect the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (K–Pg) has on the mid-Cretaceous to Quaternary mega-assemblage (mKr-Q), and the instability of the global biosphere through the Triassic–Jurassic (Tr–Jr) extinction event (see Fig. 2). Cm Cambrian, Pz Paleozoic, Tr–lKr Triassic to lower Cretaceous, mKr–Q mid-Cretaceous to Quaternary mega-assemblages.