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Song H, Wu Y, Dai X, Dal Corso J, Wang F, Feng Y, Chu D, Tian L, Song H, Foster WJ. Respiratory protein-driven selectivity during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Innovation (N Y) 2024; 5:100618. [PMID: 38638583 PMCID: PMC11025005 DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Extinction selectivity determines the direction of macroevolution, especially during mass extinction; however, its driving mechanisms remain poorly understood. By investigating the physiological selectivity of marine animals during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, we found that marine clades with lower O2-carrying capacity hemerythrin proteins and those relying on O2 diffusion experienced significantly greater extinction intensity and body-size reduction than those with higher O2-carrying capacity hemoglobin or hemocyanin proteins. Our findings suggest that animals with high O2-carrying capacity obtained the necessary O2 even under hypoxia and compensated for the increased energy requirements caused by ocean acidification, which enabled their survival during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Thus, high O2-carrying capacity may have been crucial for the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern Evolutionary Fauna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haijun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Yuyang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Xu Dai
- Biogéosciences, UMR 6282, CNRS, Université de Bourgogne, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Jacopo Dal Corso
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Fengyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Yan Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Daoliang Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Li Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Huyue Song
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
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2
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Sahoo SK, Gilleaudeau GJ, Wilson K, Hart B, Barnes BD, Faison T, Bowman AR, Larson TE, Kaufman AJ. Basin-scale reconstruction of euxinia and Late Devonian mass extinctions. Nature 2023; 615:640-645. [PMID: 36890233 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05716-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
The Devonian-Carboniferous transition marks a fundamental shift in the surface environment primarily related to changes in ocean-atmosphere oxidation states1,2, resulting from the continued proliferation of vascular land plants that stimulated the hydrological cycle and continental weathering3,4, glacioeustasy5,6, eutrophication and anoxic expansion in epicontinental seas3,4, and mass extinction events2,7,8. Here we present a comprehensive spatial and temporal compilation of geochemical data from 90 cores across the entire Bakken Shale (Williston Basin, North America). Our dataset allows for the detailed documentation of stepwise transgressions of toxic euxinic waters into the shallow oceans that drove a series of Late Devonian extinction events. Other Phanerozoic extinctions have also been related to the expansion of shallow-water euxinia, indicating that hydrogen sulfide toxicity was a key driver of Phanerozoic biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Bruce Hart
- Equinor US, Houston, TX, USA
- University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ben D Barnes
- Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Toti E Larson
- Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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3
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A diverse Ediacara assemblage survived under low-oxygen conditions. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7306. [PMID: 36435820 PMCID: PMC9701187 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35012-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The Ediacaran biota were soft-bodied organisms, many with enigmatic phylogenetic placement and ecology, living in marine environments between 574 and 539 million years ago. Some studies hypothesize a metazoan affinity and aerobic metabolism for these taxa, whereas others propose a fundamentally separate taxonomic grouping and a reliance on chemoautotrophy. To distinguish between these hypotheses and test the redox-sensitivity of Ediacaran organisms, here we present a high-resolution local and global redox dataset from carbonates that contain in situ Ediacaran fossils from Siberia. Cerium anomalies are consistently >1, indicating that local environments, where a diverse Ediacaran assemblage is preserved in situ as nodules and carbonaceous compressions, were pervasively anoxic. Additionally, δ238U values match other terminal Ediacaran sections, indicating widespread marine euxinia. These data suggest that some Ediacaran biotas were tolerant of at least intermittent anoxia, and thus had the capacity for a facultatively anaerobic lifestyle. Alternatively, these soft-bodied Ediacara organisms may have colonized the seafloor during brief oxygenation events not recorded by redox proxy data. Broad temporal correlations between carbon, sulfur, and uranium isotopes further highlight the dynamic redox landscape of Ediacaran-Cambrian evolutionary events.
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4
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Abstract
Massive carbon (C) release with abrupt warming has occurred repeatedly during greenhouse states, and these events have driven episodes of ocean deoxygenation and extinction. Records from these paleo events, coupled with biogeochemical modeling, provide clear evidence that with continued warming, the modern oceans will experience substantial deoxygenation. There are, however, few constraints from the geologic record on the effects of rapid warming under icehouse conditions. We document a C-cycle perturbation that occurred under an Earth system state experiencing recurrent glaciation. A suite of proxies suggests increased seafloor anoxia during this event in step with abrupt increase in CO2 partial pressure and a biodiversity nadir. Warming-mediated increases in marine anoxia may be more pronounced in a glaciated versus unglaciated climate state. Piecing together the history of carbon (C) perturbation events throughout Earth’s history has provided key insights into how the Earth system responds to abrupt warming. Previous studies, however, focused on short-term warming events that were superimposed on longer-term greenhouse climate states. Here, we present an integrated proxy (C and uranium [U] isotopes and paleo CO2) and multicomponent modeling approach to investigate an abrupt C perturbation and global warming event (∼304 Ma) that occurred during a paleo-glacial state. We report pronounced negative C and U isotopic excursions coincident with a doubling of atmospheric CO2 partial pressure and a biodiversity nadir. The isotopic excursions can be linked to an injection of ∼9,000 Gt of organic matter–derived C over ∼300 kyr and to near 20% of areal extent of seafloor anoxia. Earth system modeling indicates that widespread anoxic conditions can be linked to enhanced thermocline stratification and increased nutrient fluxes during this global warming within an icehouse.
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5
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Zhang H, Zhang F, Chen JB, Erwin DH, Syverson DD, Ni P, Rampino M, Chi Z, Cai YF, Xiang L, Li WQ, Liu SA, Wang RC, Wang XD, Feng Z, Li HM, Zhang T, Cai HM, Zheng W, Cui Y, Zhu XK, Hou ZQ, Wu FY, Xu YG, Planavsky N, Shen SZ. Felsic volcanism as a factor driving the end-Permian mass extinction. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabh1390. [PMID: 34788084 PMCID: PMC8597993 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abh1390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Siberian Traps large igneous province (STLIP) is commonly invoked as the primary driver of global environmental changes that triggered the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). Here, we explore the contributions of coeval felsic volcanism to end-Permian environmental changes. We report evidence of extreme Cu enrichment in the EPME interval in South China. The enrichment is associated with an increase in the light Cu isotope, melt inclusions rich in copper and sulfides, and Hg concentration spikes. The Cu and Hg elemental and isotopic signatures can be linked to S-rich vapor produced by felsic volcanism. We use these previously unknown geochemical data to estimate volcanic SO2 injections and argue that this volcanism would have produced several degrees of rapid cooling before or coincident with the more protracted global warming. Large-scale eruptions near the South China block synchronous with the EPME strengthen the case that the STLIP may not have been the sole trigger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Zhang
- LPS, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Feifei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jiu-bin Chen
- Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Douglas H. Erwin
- Department of Paleobiology, MRC-121 National Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | - Drew D. Syverson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Pei Ni
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Michael Rampino
- Departments of Biology and Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Zhe Chi
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yao-feng Cai
- LPS, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Lei Xiang
- LPS, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Wei-qiang Li
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Sheng-Ao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Ru-cheng Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiang-dong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Zhuo Feng
- Institute of Deep Time Terrestrial Ecology and Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Hou-min Li
- Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Hong-ming Cai
- Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Wang Zheng
- Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ying Cui
- Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA
| | - Xiang-kun Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Zeng-qian Hou
- Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
| | - Fu-yuan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Yi-gang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry and Center of Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Noah Planavsky
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Shu-zhong Shen
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry and Center of Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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6
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Clarkson MO, Lenton TM, Andersen MB, Bagard ML, Dickson AJ, Vance D. Upper limits on the extent of seafloor anoxia during the PETM from uranium isotopes. Nat Commun 2021; 12:399. [PMID: 33452243 PMCID: PMC7810695 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20486-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) represents a major carbon cycle and climate perturbation that was associated with ocean de-oxygenation, in a qualitatively similar manner to the more extensive Mesozoic Oceanic Anoxic Events. Although indicators of ocean de-oxygenation are common for the PETM, and linked to biotic turnover, the global extent and temporal progression of de-oxygenation is poorly constrained. Here we present carbonate associated uranium isotope data for the PETM. A lack of resolvable perturbation to the U-cycle during the event suggests a limited expansion of seafloor anoxia on a global scale. We use this result, in conjunction with a biogeochemical model, to set an upper limit on the extent of global seafloor de-oxygenation. The model suggests that the new U isotope data, whilst also being consistent with plausible carbon emission scenarios and observations of carbon cycle recovery, permit a maximum ~10-fold expansion of anoxia, covering <2% of seafloor area. The expansion of oceanic anoxia during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum has important implications for faunal turnover patterns and global biogeochemical cycles. Here the authors use uranium isotopes and a biogeochemical model to suggest that the areal expansion of anoxia must have been limited to 10-fold.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Timothy M Lenton
- Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK
| | - Morten B Andersen
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Cardiff, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Marie-Laure Bagard
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK.,Department of Earth Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Alexander J Dickson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Derek Vance
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETHZ, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
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7
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Khlebodarova TM, Likhoshvai VA. Causes of global extinctions in the history of life: facts and hypotheses. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2020; 24:407-419. [PMID: 33659824 PMCID: PMC7716527 DOI: 10.18699/vj20.633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Paleontologists define global extinctions on Earth as a loss of about three-quarters of plant and animal species over a relatively short period of time. At least five global extinctions are documented in the Phanerozoic fossil record (~500-million-year period): ~65, 200, 260, 380, and 440 million years ago. In addition, there is evidence of global extinctions in earlier periods of life on Earth - during the Late Cambrian (~500 million years ago) and Ediacaran periods (more than 540 million years ago). There is still no common opinion on the causes of their occurrence. The current study is a systematized review of the data on recorded extinctions of complex life forms on Earth from the moment of their occurrence during the Ediacaran period to the modern period. The review discusses possible causes for mass extinctions in the light of the influence of abiogenic factors, planetary or astronomical, and the consequences of their actions. We evaluate the pros and cons of the hypothesis on the presence of periodicity in the extinction of Phanerozoic marine biota. Strong evidence that allows us to hypothesize that additional mechanisms associated with various internal biotic factors are responsible for the emergence of extinctions in the evolution of complex life forms is discussed. Developing the idea of the internal causes of periodicity and discontinuity in evolution, we propose our own original hypothesis, according to which the bistability phenomenon underlies the complex dynamics of the biota development, which is manifested in the form of global extinctions. The bistability phenomenon arises only in ecosystems with predominant sexual reproduction. Our hypothesis suggests that even in the absence of global abiotic catastrophes, extinctions of biota would occur anyway. However, our hypothesis does not exclude the possibility that in different periods of the Earth's history the biota was subjected to powerful external influences that had a significant impact on its further development, which is reflected in the Earth's fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Khlebodarova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - V A Likhoshvai
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
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8
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Stockey RG, Cole DB, Planavsky NJ, Loydell DK, Frýda J, Sperling EA. Persistent global marine euxinia in the early Silurian. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1804. [PMID: 32286253 PMCID: PMC7156380 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15400-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The second pulse of the Late Ordovician mass extinction occurred around the Hirnantian-Rhuddanian boundary (~444 Ma) and has been correlated with expanded marine anoxia lasting into the earliest Silurian. Characterization of the Hirnantian ocean anoxic event has focused on the onset of anoxia, with global reconstructions based on carbonate δ238U modeling. However, there have been limited attempts to quantify uncertainty in metal isotope mass balance approaches. Here, we probabilistically evaluate coupled metal isotopes and sedimentary archives to increase constraint. We present iron speciation, metal concentration, δ98Mo and δ238U measurements of Rhuddanian black shales from the Murzuq Basin, Libya. We evaluate these data (and published carbonate δ238U data) with a coupled stochastic mass balance model. Combined statistical analysis of metal isotopes and sedimentary sinks provides uncertainty-bounded constraints on the intensity of Hirnantian-Rhuddanian euxinia. This work extends the duration of anoxia to >3 Myrs – notably longer than well-studied Mesozoic ocean anoxic events. The Late Ordovician mass extinction has been attributed to extended marine anoxia. Here, the authors use a metal isotope mass balance model and find the marine anoxic event lasted over 3 million years, notably longer than the anoxic event associated with the Permian-Triassic extinction and Cretaceous ocean anoxic events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard G Stockey
- Stanford University, Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Devon B Cole
- School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Noah J Planavsky
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - David K Loydell
- School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, UK
| | - Jiří Frýda
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Erik A Sperling
- Stanford University, Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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9
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Gastaldo RA, Kamo SL, Neveling J, Geissman JW, Looy CV, Martini AM. The base of the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone, Karoo Basin, predates the end-Permian marine extinction. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1428. [PMID: 32188857 PMCID: PMC7080820 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15243-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The current model for the end-Permian terrestrial ecosystem crisis holds that systematic loss exhibited by an abrupt turnover from the Daptocephalus to the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone (AZ; Karoo Basin, South Africa) is time equivalent with the marine Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB). The marine event began at 251.941 ± 0.037 Ma, with the PTB placed at 251.902 ± 0.024 Ma (2σ). Radio-isotopic dates over this interval in the Karoo Basin were limited to one high resolution ash-fall deposit in the upper Daptocephalus AZ (253.48 ± 0.15 (2σ) Ma) with no similar age constraints for the overlying biozone. Here, we present the first U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS zircon age (252.24 ± 0.11 (2σ) Ma) from a pristine ash-fall deposit in the Karoo Lystrosaurus AZ. This date confirms that the lower exposures of the Lystrosaurus AZ are of latest Permian age and that the purported turnover in the basin preceded the end-Permian marine event by over 300 ka, thus refuting the previously used stratigraphic marker for terrestrial end-Permian extinction. The end-Permian is associated with major changes in both marine and terrestrial biodiversity. Here, Gastaldo et al. present high resolution dating of the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone in the Karoo Basin, South Africa, demonstrating that the marine crisis did not mirror a coeval event on land.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandra L Kamo
- Department of Earth Sciences, Jack Satterly Geochronology Laboratory, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B1, Canada
| | - Johann Neveling
- Council for Geosciences, Private Bag x112, Silverton, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
| | - John W Geissman
- Department of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, 75080-3021, USA.,Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA
| | - Cindy V Looy
- Department of Integrative Biology, Museum of Paleontology, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California-Berkeley, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3140, USA
| | - Anna M Martini
- Department of Geology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, 01002, USA
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10
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Zhang F, Xiao S, Romaniello SJ, Hardisty D, Li C, Melezhik V, Pokrovsky B, Cheng M, Shi W, Lenton TM, Anbar AD. Global marine redox changes drove the rise and fall of the Ediacara biota. GEOBIOLOGY 2019; 17:594-610. [PMID: 31353777 PMCID: PMC6899691 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The role of O2 in the evolution of early animals, as represented by some members of the Ediacara biota, has been heavily debated because current geochemical evidence paints a conflicting picture regarding global marine O2 levels during key intervals of the rise and fall of the Ediacara biota. Fossil evidence indicates that the diversification the Ediacara biota occurred during or shortly after the Ediacaran Shuram negative C-isotope Excursion (SE), which is often interpreted to reflect ocean oxygenation. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding ocean oxygen levels during the SE and the middle Ediacaran Period. To help resolve this debate, we examined U isotope variations (δ238 U) in three carbonate sections from South China, Siberia, and USA that record the SE. The δ238 U data from all three sections are in excellent agreement and reveal the largest positive shift in δ238 U ever reported in the geologic record (from ~ -0.74‰ to ~ -0.26‰). Quantitative modeling of these data suggests that the global ocean switched from a largely anoxic state (26%-100% of the seafloor overlain by anoxic waters) to near-modern levels of ocean oxygenation during the SE. This episode of ocean oxygenation is broadly coincident with the rise of the Ediacara biota. Following this initial radiation, the Ediacara biota persisted until the terminal Ediacaran period, when recently published U isotope data indicate a return to more widespread ocean anoxia. Taken together, it appears that global marine redox changes drove the rise and fall of the Ediacara biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Zhang
- School of Earth Sciences and EngineeringNanjing UniversityNanjingChina
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsYale UniversityNew HavenCTUSA
- The Globe InstituteUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagen KDenmark
- School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | - Shuhai Xiao
- Department of GeosciencesVirginia TechBlacksburgVAUSA
| | | | - Dalton Hardisty
- Department of Earth and Environmental ScienceMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Chao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental GeologyChina University of GeosciencesWuhanChina
| | | | | | - Meng Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental GeologyChina University of GeosciencesWuhanChina
| | - Wei Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental GeologyChina University of GeosciencesWuhanChina
| | | | - Ariel D. Anbar
- School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
- School of Molecular ScienceArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
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11
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Zhang F, Xiao S, Kendall B, Romaniello SJ, Cui H, Meyer M, Gilleaudeau GJ, Kaufman AJ, Anbar AD. Extensive marine anoxia during the terminal Ediacaran Period. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaan8983. [PMID: 29938217 PMCID: PMC6010336 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aan8983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The terminal Ediacaran Period witnessed the decline of the Ediacara biota (which may have included many stem-group animals). To test whether oceanic anoxia might have played a role in this evolutionary event, we measured U isotope compositions (δ238U) in sedimentary carbonates from the Dengying Formation of South China to obtain new constraints on the extent of global redox change during the terminal Ediacaran. We found the most negative carbonate δ238U values yet reported (-0.95 per mil), which were reproduced in two widely spaced coeval sections spanning the terminal Ediacaran Period (551 to 541 million years ago). Mass balance modeling indicates an episode of extensive oceanic anoxia, during which anoxia covered >21% of the seafloor and most U entering the oceans was removed into sediments below anoxic waters. The results suggest that an expansion of oceanic anoxia and temporal-spatial redox heterogeneity, independent of other environmental and ecological factors, may have contributed to the decline of the Ediacara biota and may have also stimulated animal motility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Zhang
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Shuhai Xiao
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Brian Kendall
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Stephen J. Romaniello
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Huan Cui
- Department of Geoscience and NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Mike Meyer
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20005, USA
| | | | - Alan J. Kaufman
- Geology Department and Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Ariel D. Anbar
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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