Replication Data for: Palaeoecological signals remain robust at broad spatiotemporal scales despite artificial reductions in sampling power and geographical scope

Specifically, the present study tests whether palaeoecological signals (as represented in an NMDS ordination plot), and the processes that drive them, may be identified despite artificial reductions in spatiotemporal resolution and scope. These artificial reductions simulated two types of logistical sampling constraints: (1) limitations on the absolute number of samples collected, and (2) inability to travel to, and collect from, geographically separated regions.

The primary palaeoecological signal identified in NMDS ordination plots of the entire dataset (255 samples) was identifiable more than >98% of the time with as few as 26 randomly selected samples, and NMDS ordinations of geographically restricted subsamples representing temporal intervals of >5 Ma were found to contain signals representative of the entire study area. Thus, it was possible to capture the primary signals corresponding to biodiversity shifts on broad scales with limited sampling power, and without extensively sampling outside of a single geographical region.