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Wignall PB. Paleobiology: Anatomy of a mass extinction double whammy. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R233-R235. [PMID: 36977387 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
The Permo-Triassic mass extinction has been resolved into two closely spaced crises that both saw enormous extinction losses. However, food web modelling suggests they were not ecologically equivalent, only the second destabilised communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul B Wignall
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
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2
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Foster WJ, Godbold A, Brayard A, Frank AB, Grasby SE, Twitchett RJ, Oji T. Palaeoecology of the Hiraiso Formation (Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) and implications for the recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14357. [PMID: 36569998 PMCID: PMC9774009 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The Hiraiso Formation of northeast Japan represents an important and under-explored archive of Early Triassic marine ecosystems. Here, we present a palaeoecological analysis of its benthic faunas in order to explore the temporal and spatial variations of diversity, ecological structure and taxonomic composition. In addition, we utilise redox proxies to make inferences about the redox state of the depositional environments. We then use this data to explore the pace of recovery in the Early Triassic, and the habitable zone hypothesis, where wave aerated marine environments are thought to represent an oxygenated refuge. The age of the Hiraiso Formation is equivocal due to the lack of key biostratigraphical index fossils, but new ammonoid finds in this study support an early Spathian age. The ichnofossils from the Hiraiso Formation show an onshore-offshore trend with high diversity and relatively large faunas in offshore transition settings and a low diversity of small ichnofossils in basinal settings. The body fossils do not, however, record either spatial or temporal changes, because the shell beds represent allochthonous assemblages due to wave reworking. The dominance of small burrow sizes, presence of key taxa including Thalassinoides, Rhizocorallium and Holocrinus, presence of complex trace fossils, and both erect and deep infaunal tiering organisms suggests that the benthic fauna represents an advanced stage of ecological recovery for the Early Triassic, but not full recovery. The ecological state suggests a similar level of ecological complexity to late Griesbachian and Spathian communities elsewhere, with the Spathian marking a globally important stage of recovery following the mass extinction. The onshore-offshore distribution of the benthic faunas supports the habitable zone hypothesis. This gradient is, however, also consistent with onshore-offshore ecological gradients known to be controlled by oxygen gradients in modern tropical and subtropical settings. This suggests that the habitable zone is not an oxygenated refuge that is only restricted to anoxic events. The lack of observed full recovery is likely a consequence of a persistent oxygen-limitation (dysoxic conditions), hot Early Triassic temperatures and the lack of a steep temperature/water-depth gradient within the habitable zone.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J. Foster
- Institute for Geology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany,Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Amanda Godbold
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States,University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Anja B. Frank
- Institute for Geology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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3
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Leu M, Bucher H, Vennemann T, Bagherpour B, Ji C, Brosse M, Goudemand N. A Unitary Association-based conodont biozonation of the Smithian-Spathian boundary (Early Triassic) and associated biotic crisis from South China. SWISS JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 2022; 141:19. [PMID: 36439694 PMCID: PMC9681704 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-022-00259-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The Smithian-Spathian boundary (SSB) crisis played a prominent role in resetting the evolution and diversity of the nekton (ammonoids and conodonts) during the Early Triassic recovery. The late Smithian nektonic crisis culminated at the SSB, ca. 2.7 Myr after the Permian-Triassic boundary mass extinction. An accurate and high-resolution biochronological frame is needed for establishing patterns of extinction and re-diversification of this crisis. Here, we propose a new biochronological frame for conodonts that is based on the Unitary Associations Method (UAM). In this new time frame, the SSB can thus be placed between the climax of the extinction and the onset of the re-diversification. Based on the study of new and rich conodont collections obtained from five sections (of which four are newly described here) in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China, we have performed a thorough taxonomical revision and described one new genus and 21 new species. Additionally, we have critically reassessed the published conodont data from 16 other sections from South China, and we have used this new, standardized dataset to construct the most accurate, highly resolved, and laterally reproducible biozonation of the Smithian to early Spathian interval for South China. The resulting 11 Unitary Association Zones (UAZ) are intercalibrated with lithological and chemostratigraphical (δ13Ccarb) markers, as well as with ammonoid zones, thus providing a firm basis for an evolutionary meaningful and laterally consistent definition of the SSB. Our UAZ8, which is characterized by the occurrence of Icriospathodus ex gr. crassatus, Triassospathodus symmetricus and Novispathodus brevissimus, is marked by a new evolutionary radiation of both conodonts and ammonoids and is within a positive peak in the carbon isotope record. Consequently, we propose to place the SSB within the separation interval intercalated between UAZ7 and UAZ8 thus leaving some flexibility for future refinement and updating. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-022-00259-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Leu
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hugo Bucher
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Torsten Vennemann
- Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Borhan Bagherpour
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Cheng Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008 China
| | | | - Nicolas Goudemand
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Univ. Lyon, ENS de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
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4
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Smith CPA, Laville T, Fara E, Escarguel G, Olivier N, Vennin E, Goudemand N, Bylund KG, Jenks JF, Stephen DA, Hautmann M, Charbonnier S, Krumenacker LJ, Brayard A. Exceptional fossil assemblages confirm the existence of complex Early Triassic ecosystems during the early Spathian. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19657. [PMID: 34608207 PMCID: PMC8490361 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99056-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The mass extinction characterizing the Permian/Triassic boundary (PTB; ~ 252 Ma) corresponds to a major faunal shift between the Palaeozoic and the Modern evolutionary fauna. The temporal, spatial, environmental, and ecological dynamics of the associated biotic recovery remain highly debated, partly due to the scarce, or poorly-known, Early Triassic fossil record. Recently, an exceptionally complex ecosystem dated from immediately after the Smithian/Spathian boundary (~ 3 myr after the PTB) was reported: the Paris Biota (Idaho, USA). However, the spatiotemporal representativeness of this unique assemblage remained questionable as it was hitherto only reported from a single site. Here we describe three new exceptionally diverse assemblages of the same age as the Paris Biota, and a fourth younger one. They are located in Idaho and Nevada, and are taxonomic subsets of the Paris Biota. We show that the latter covered a region-wide area and persisted at least partially throughout the Spathian. The presence of a well-established marine fauna such as the Paris Biota, as soon as the early Spathian, indicates that the post-PTB biotic recovery and the installation of complex ecosystems probably took place earlier than often assumed, at least at a regional scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P A Smith
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282 CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000, Dijon, France.
| | - Thomas Laville
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CR2P, UMR 7207, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Emmanuel Fara
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282 CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Gilles Escarguel
- LEHNA UMR 5023, CNRS, ENTPE, Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Nicolas Olivier
- LMV, Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Emmanuelle Vennin
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282 CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Nicolas Goudemand
- IGFL UMR 5242, CNRS, ENS de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69364, Lyon, France
| | | | | | - Daniel A Stephen
- Department of Earth Science, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, 84058, USA
| | - Michael Hautmann
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, 8006, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sylvain Charbonnier
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CR2P, UMR 7207, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 75005, Paris, France
| | - L J Krumenacker
- Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, 83209-8072, USA
| | - Arnaud Brayard
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282 CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000, Dijon, France
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5
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Whalen CD, Hull PM, Briggs DEG. Paleozoic ammonoid ecomorphometrics test ecospace availability as a driver of morphological diversification. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eabc2365. [PMID: 32917688 PMCID: PMC11206447 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc2365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The early burst model suggests that disparity rises rapidly to fill empty ecospace following clade origination or in the aftermath of a mass extinction. Early bursts are considered common features of fossil data, but neontological studies have struggled to identify them. Furthermore, tests have proven difficult because factors besides ecology can drive changes in morphology. Here, we document the ecomorphometric evolution of the extinct Ammonoidea at 1-million-year resolution, from their origination in the Early Devonian (Emsian) to the Early Triassic (Induan), over ~156 million years. This time interval encompasses six global extinction events, including two of the Big Five, and incorporates multiple ammonoid radiations. However, we find no evidence for early bursts of ecomorphological disparity. This contradicts arguments that the temporal scope, or traits measured in genomic data, conceal evidence of early bursts. Rather, early bursts may be less prevalent in fossil data than is often assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Whalen
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, 210 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - Pincelli M Hull
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, 210 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Derek E G Briggs
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, 210 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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6
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Li Q, Liu J. An Early Triassic sauropterygian and associated fauna from South China provide insights into Triassic ecosystem health. Commun Biol 2020; 3:63. [PMID: 32047220 PMCID: PMC7012838 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-0778-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The timing and pattern of biotic recovery from the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction remains elusive. Here we report new material of the Early Triassic sauropterygian Lariosaurus sanxiaensis and associated fauna from the Jialingjiang Formation in Hubei Province, South China. Phylogenetic analysis based on a novel data matrix of sauropterygians recognizes L. sanxiaensis as a basal nothosaur. Stratigraphic congruence analysis shows that the new phylogenetic consensus tree matches to the stratigraphic distribution of sauropterygians very well. The diversified reptilian fauna and inferred simple food web in the Nanzhang-Yuan'an fauna where L. sanxiaensis was discovered suggest that the Triassic biotic recovery adopted a top-down pattern, in contrast to the prevailing view. Comparison with the Middle Triassic Luoping biota from the same carbonate platform suggests that the Triassic biotic recovery is delayed and healthy ecosystems were not established until the Middle Triassic in South China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Li
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China
| | - Jun Liu
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China.
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, 53115, Germany.
- Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Nanjing, 210008, China.
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7
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Song H, Wignall PB, Dunhill AM. Decoupled taxonomic and ecological recoveries from the Permo-Triassic extinction. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaat5091. [PMID: 30324133 PMCID: PMC6179380 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat5091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The Permian-Triassic mass extinction was the worst crisis faced by life; it killed >90% of marine species in less than 0.1 million years (Ma). However, knowledge of its macroecological impact over prolonged time scales is limited. We show that marine ecosystems dominated by non-motile animals shifted to ones dominated by nektonic groups after the extinction. In Triassic oceans, animals at high trophic levels recovered faster than those at lower levels. The top-down rebuilding of marine ecosystems was still underway in the latest Triassic, ~50 Ma after the extinction, and contrasts with the ~5-Ma recovery required for taxonomic diversity. The decoupling between taxonomic and ecological recoveries suggests that a process of vacant niche filling before reaching the maximum environmental carrying capacity is independent of ecosystem structure building.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haijun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
- Corresponding author.
| | - Paul B. Wignall
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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Zhang F, Romaniello SJ, Algeo TJ, Lau KV, Clapham ME, Richoz S, Herrmann AD, Smith H, Horacek M, Anbar AD. Multiple episodes of extensive marine anoxia linked to global warming and continental weathering following the latest Permian mass extinction. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:e1602921. [PMID: 29651454 PMCID: PMC5895439 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1602921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Explaining the ~5-million-year delay in marine biotic recovery following the latest Permian mass extinction, the largest biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic, is a fundamental challenge for both geological and biological sciences. Ocean redox perturbations may have played a critical role in this delayed recovery. However, the lack of quantitative constraints on the details of Early Triassic oceanic anoxia (for example, time, duration, and extent) leaves the links between oceanic conditions and the delayed biotic recovery ambiguous. We report high-resolution U-isotope (δ238U) data from carbonates of the uppermost Permian to lowermost Middle Triassic Zal section (Iran) to characterize the timing and global extent of ocean redox variation during the Early Triassic. Our δ238U record reveals multiple negative shifts during the Early Triassic. Isotope mass-balance modeling suggests that the global area of anoxic seafloor expanded substantially in the Early Triassic, peaking during the latest Permian to mid-Griesbachian, the late Griesbachian to mid-Dienerian, the Smithian-Spathian transition, and the Early/Middle Triassic transition. Comparisons of the U-, C-, and Sr-isotope records with a modeled seawater PO43- concentration curve for the Early Triassic suggest that elevated marine productivity and enhanced oceanic stratification were likely the immediate causes of expanded oceanic anoxia. The patterns of redox variation documented by the U-isotope record show a good first-order correspondence to peaks in ammonoid extinctions during the Early Triassic. Our results indicate that multiple oscillations in oceanic anoxia modulated the recovery of marine ecosystems following the latest Permian mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Zhang
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6004, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - Stephen J. Romaniello
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6004, USA
| | - Thomas J. Algeo
- Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221–0013, USA
- State Key Laboratories of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Kimberly V. Lau
- Deparment of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Matthew E. Clapham
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Sylvain Richoz
- Institute of Earth Sciences, NAWI Graz, University of Graz, Heinrichstraße 26, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Achim D. Herrmann
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Harrison Smith
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6004, USA
| | - Micha Horacek
- Institute of Earth Sciences, NAWI Graz, University of Graz, Heinrichstraße 26, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Lehr- und Forschungszentrum Francisco-Josephinum, 3250 Wieselburg, Austria
- Department of Lithospheric Research, Vienna University, Althanstr. 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ariel D. Anbar
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6004, USA
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
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Estimating Rates and Probabilities of Origination and Extinction Using Taxonomic Occurrence Data: Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) Approaches. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1017/s1089332600001820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We rely on observations of occurrences of fossils to infer the rates and timings of origination and extinction of taxa. These estimates can then be used to shed light on questions such as whether extinction and origination rates have been higher or lower at different times in earth history or in different geographical regions, etc. and to investigate the possible underlying causes of varying rates. An inherent problem in inference using occurrence data is one of incompleteness of sampling. Even if a taxon is present at a given time and place, we are guaranteed to detect or sample it less than 100% of the time we search in a random outcrop or sediment sample that should contain it, either because it was not preserved, it was preserved but then eroded, or because we simply did not find it. Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods rely on replicate sampling to allow for the simultaneous estimation of sampling probability and the parameters of interest (e.g. extinction, origination, occupancy, diversity). Here, we introduce the philosophy of CMR approaches especially as applicable to paleontological data and questions. The use of CMR is in its infancy in paleobiological applications, but the handful of studies that have used it demonstrate its utility and generality. We discuss why the use of CMR has not matched its development in other fields, such as in population ecology, as well as the importance of modelling the sampling process and estimating sampling probabilities. In addition, we suggest some potential avenues for the development of CMR applications in paleobiology.
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10
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Abstract
The vast majority of species that have ever lived went extinct sometime other than during one of the great mass extinction events. In spite of this, mass extinctions are thought to have outsized effects on the evolutionary history of life. While part of this effect is certainly due to the extinction itself, I here consider how the aftermaths of mass extinctions might contribute to the evolutionary importance of such events. Following the mass loss of taxa from the fossil record are prolonged intervals of ecological upheaval that create a selective regime unique to those times. The pacing and duration of ecosystem change during extinction aftermaths suggests strong ties between the biosphere and geosphere, and a previously undescribed macroevolutionary driver - earth system succession. Earth system succession occurs when global environmental or biotic change, as occurs across extinction boundaries, pushes the biosphere and geosphere out of equilibrium. As species and ecosystems re-evolve in the aftermath, they change global biogeochemical cycles - and in turn, species and ecosystems - over timescales typical of the geosphere, often many thousands to millions of years. Earth system succession provides a general explanation for the pattern and timing of ecological and evolutionary change in the fossil record. Importantly, it also suggests that a speed limit might exist for the pace of global biotic change after massive disturbance - a limit set by geosphere-biosphere interactions. For mass extinctions, earth system succession may drive the ever-changing ecological stage on which species evolve, restructuring ecosystems and setting long-term evolutionary trajectories as they do.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pincelli Hull
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, PO Box 208109, New Haven, CT 06520-8109, USA.
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11
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Eccentricity and obliquity paced carbon cycling in the Early Triassic and implications for post-extinction ecosystem recovery. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27793. [PMID: 27292969 PMCID: PMC4904238 DOI: 10.1038/srep27793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The timing of marine ecosystem recovery following the End Permian Mass Extinction (EPME) remains poorly constrained given the lack of radiometric ages. Here we develop a high-resolution carbonate carbon isotope (δ13Ccarb) record for 3.20 million years of the Olenekian in South China that defines the astronomical time-scale for the critical interval of major evolutionary and oceanic events in the Spathian. δ13Ccarb documents eccentricity modulation of carbon cycling through the period and a strong obliquity signal. A shift in phasing between short and long eccentricity modulation, and amplification of obliquity, is nearly coincident with a 2% decrease in seawater δ13CDIC, the last of a longer-term stepped decrease through the Spathian. The mid-Spathian shift in seawater δ13CDIC to typical thermocline values is interpreted to record a major oceanic reorganization with global climate amelioration. Coincidence of the phasing shift with the first occurrence of marine reptiles (248.81 Ma), suggests that their invasion into the sea and the onset of a complex ecosystem were facilitated by restoration of deep ocean ventilation linked mechanistically to a change in the response of the oceanic carbon reservoir to astronomical forcing. Together these records place the first constraints on the duration of the post-extinction recovery to 3.35 myr.
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12
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Liu J, Hu SX, Rieppel O, Jiang DY, Benton MJ, Kelley NP, Aitchison JC, Zhou CY, Wen W, Huang JY, Xie T, Lv T. A gigantic nothosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Middle Triassic of SW China and its implication for the Triassic biotic recovery. Sci Rep 2014; 4:7142. [PMID: 25429609 PMCID: PMC4245812 DOI: 10.1038/srep07142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of gigantic apex predators in the eastern Panthalassic and western Tethyan oceans suggests that complex ecosystems in the sea had become re-established in these regions at least by the early Middle Triassic, after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME). However, it is not clear whether oceanic ecosystem recovery from the PTME was globally synchronous because of the apparent lack of such predators in the eastern Tethyan/western Panthalassic region prior to the Late Triassic. Here we report a gigantic nothosaur from the lower Middle Triassic of Luoping in southwest China (eastern Tethyan ocean), which possesses the largest known lower jaw among Triassic sauropterygians. Phylogenetic analysis suggests parallel evolution of gigantism in Triassic sauropterygians. Discovery of this gigantic apex predator, together with associated diverse marine reptiles and the complex food web, indicates global recovery of shallow marine ecosystems from PTME by the early Middle Triassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Liu
- 1] Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China [2] School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China [3] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Shi-Xue Hu
- Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
| | - Olivier Rieppel
- Center of Integrative Research, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA
| | - Da-Yong Jiang
- Department of Geology and Geological Museum, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
| | - Neil P Kelley
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC 20013, USA
| | | | - Chang-Yong Zhou
- Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
| | - Wen Wen
- Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
| | - Jin-Yuan Huang
- Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
| | - Tao Xie
- Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
| | - Tao Lv
- Chengdu Center, China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China
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13
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Anoxia/high temperature double whammy during the Permian-Triassic marine crisis and its aftermath. Sci Rep 2014; 4:4132. [PMID: 24549265 PMCID: PMC3928575 DOI: 10.1038/srep04132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2013] [Accepted: 02/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Permian-Triassic mass extinction was the most severe biotic crisis in the past 500 million years. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the crisis, but few account for the spectrum of extinction selectivity and subsequent recovery. Here we show that selective losses are best accounted for by a combination of lethally warm, shallow waters and anoxic deep waters that acted to severely restrict the habitable area to a narrow mid-water refuge zone. The relative tolerance of groups to this double whammy provides the first clear explanation for the selective extinction losses during this double-pulsed crisis and also the fitful recovery. Thus, high temperature intolerant shallow-water dwellers, such as corals, large foraminifers and radiolarians were eliminated first whilst high temperature tolerant ostracods thrived except in anoxic deeper-waters. In contrast, hypoxia tolerant but temperature intolerant small foraminifers were driven from shallow-waters but thrived on dysoxic slopes margins. Only those mollusc groups, which are tolerant of both hypoxia and high temperatures, were able to thrive in the immediate aftermath of the extinction. Limited Early Triassic benthic recovery was restricted to mid-water depths and coincided with intervals of cooling and deepening of water column anoxia that expanded the habitable mid-water refuge zone.
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Sun Y, Joachimski MM, Wignall PB, Yan C, Chen Y, Jiang H, Wang L, Lai X. Lethally Hot Temperatures During the Early Triassic Greenhouse. Science 2012; 338:366-70. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1224126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 693] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Irmis RB, Whiteside JH. Delayed recovery of non-marine tetrapods after the end-Permian mass extinction tracks global carbon cycle. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:1310-8. [PMID: 22031757 PMCID: PMC3282377 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During the end-Permian mass extinction, marine ecosystems suffered a major drop in diversity, which was maintained throughout the Early Triassic until delayed recovery during the Middle Triassic. This depressed diversity in the Early Triassic correlates with multiple major perturbations to the global carbon cycle, interpreted as either intrinsic ecosystem or external palaeoenvironmental effects. In contrast, the terrestrial record of extinction and recovery is less clear; the effects and magnitude of the end-Permian extinction on non-marine vertebrates are particularly controversial. We use specimen-level data from southern Africa and Russia to investigate the palaeodiversity dynamics of non-marine tetrapods across the Permo-Triassic boundary by analysing sample-standardized generic richness, evenness and relative abundance. In addition, we investigate the potential effects of sampling, geological and taxonomic biases on these data. Our analyses demonstrate that non-marine tetrapods were severely affected by the end-Permian mass extinction, and that these assemblages did not begin to recover until the Middle Triassic. These data are congruent with those from land plants and marine invertebrates. Furthermore, they are consistent with the idea that unstable low-diversity post-extinction ecosystems were subject to boom-bust cycles, reflected in multiple Early Triassic perturbations of the carbon cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randall B Irmis
- Utah Museum of Natural History, 1390 E. Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0050, USA.
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Lloyd GT, Young JR, Smith AB. Taxonomic Structure of the Fossil Record is Shaped by Sampling Bias. Syst Biol 2011; 61:80-9. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syr076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Graeme T. Lloyd
- Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Jeremy R. Young
- Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
- Present address: Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Andrew B. Smith
- Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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