1
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Rogger J, Judd EJ, Mills BJW, Goddéris Y, Gerya TV, Pellissier L. Biogeographic climate sensitivity controls Earth system response to large igneous province carbon degassing. Science 2024; 385:661-666. [PMID: 39116244 DOI: 10.1126/science.adn3450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Periods of large igneous province (LIP) magmatism have shaped Earth's biological and climatic history, causing major climatic shifts and biological reorganizations. The vegetation response to LIP-induced perturbations may affect the efficiency of the carbon-climate regulation system and the post-LIP climate evolution. Using an eco-evolutionary vegetation model, we demonstrate here that the vegetation's climate adaptation capacity, through biological evolution and geographic dispersal, is a major determinant of the severity and longevity of LIP-induced hyperthermals and can promote the emergence of a new climatic steady state. Proxy-based temperature reconstructions of the Permian-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic, and Paleocene-Eocene hyperthermals match the modeled trajectories of bioclimatic disturbance and recovery. We conclude that biological vegetation dynamics shape the multimillion-year Earth system response to sudden carbon degassing and global warming episodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Rogger
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Emily J Judd
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Yves Goddéris
- Géosciences-Environnement Toulouse, CNRS-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
| | - Taras V Gerya
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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2
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Klug C, Spiekman SNF, Bastiaans D, Scheffold B, Scheyer TM. The marine conservation deposits of Monte San Giorgio (Switzerland, Italy): the prototype of Triassic black shale Lagerstätten. SWISS JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 2024; 143:11. [PMID: 38450287 PMCID: PMC10912274 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-024-00308-7] [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: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Marine conservation deposits ('Konservat-Lagerstätten') are characterized by their mode of fossil preservation, faunal composition and sedimentary facies. Here, we review these characteristics with respect to the famous conservation deposit of the Besano Formation (formerly Grenzbitumenzone; including the Anisian-Ladinian boundary), and the successively younger fossil-bearing units Cava inferiore, Cava superiore, Cassina beds and the Kalkschieferzone of Monte San Giorgio (Switzerland and Italy). We compare these units to a selection of important black shale-type Lagerstätten of the global Phanerozoic plus the Ediacaran in order to detect commonalities in their facies, genesis, and fossil content using principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses. Further, we put the Monte San Giorgio type Fossillagerstätten into the context of other comparable Triassic deposits worldwide based on their fossil content. The results of the principal component and cluster analyses allow a subdivision of the 45 analysed Lagerstätten into four groups, for which we suggest the use of the corresponding pioneering localities: Burgess type for the early Palaeozoic black shales, Monte San Giorgio type for the Triassic black shales, Holzmaden type for the pyrite-rich black shales and Solnhofen type for platy limestones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Klug
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Dylan Bastiaans
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Beat Scheffold
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Torsten M. Scheyer
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
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3
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Benton MJ. Palaeobiology: Rapid succession during mass extinction. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R436-R440. [PMID: 37279663 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The mass extinction at the end of the Permian period was a time of considerable ecological upheaval. A new study shows that in Southern Africa top predators replaced each other in succession across the end-Permian interval, suggesting that ecological crisis preceded the mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
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4
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Boyce CK, Ibarra DE, D'Antonio MP. What we talk about when we talk about the long-term carbon cycle. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1550-1557. [PMID: 36484141 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The terrestrial biota is a crucial part of the long-term carbon cycle via the deposition of biomass as coal and other sedimentary organic matter and the impact of plants, fungi, and microbial life on the weathering of silicate minerals. Understanding these processes and their changes through time requires both geochemical modeling of the system as well as expertise in the living and fossil biotas and their ecological interactions, but details of these components are often lost in translation between disciplines. Here, we highlight misconceptions of the long-term carbon cycle that most frequently infiltrate the literature and hamper progress: mass balance requirements, the nature and duration of perturbations, opposing timescale constraints on biological and geological processes, and the role of models.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Kevin Boyce
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Daniel E Ibarra
- Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02906, USA
| | - Michael P D'Antonio
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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5
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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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6
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An 80-million-year sulphur isotope record of pyrite burial over the Permian-Triassic. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17370. [PMID: 36253491 PMCID: PMC9576676 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21542-4] [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] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the extensive use of sulphur isotope ratios (δ34S) for understanding ancient biogeochemical cycles, many studies focus on specific time-points of interest, such as the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). We have generated an 80 million-year Permian-Triassic δ34Sevap curve from the Staithes S-20 borehole, Yorkshire, England. The Staithes δ34Sevap record replicates the major features of the global curve, while confirming a new excursion at the Olenekian/Anisian boundary at ~ 247 million years ago. We incorporate the resultant δ34Sevap curve into a sulphur isotope box model. Our modelling approach reveals three significant pyrite burial events (i.e. PBEs) in the Triassic. In particular, it predicts a significant biogeochemical response across the EPME, resulting in a substantial increase in pyrite burial, possibly driven by Siberian Traps volcanism. Our model suggests that after ~ 10 million years pyrite burial achieves relative long-term stability until the latest Triassic.
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7
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Simões TR, Kammerer CF, Caldwell MW, Pierce SE. Successive climate crises in the deep past drove the early evolution and radiation of reptiles. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq1898. [PMID: 35984885 PMCID: PMC9390993 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq1898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Climate change-induced mass extinctions provide unique opportunities to explore the impacts of global environmental disturbances on organismal evolution. However, their influence on terrestrial ecosystems remains poorly understood. Here, we provide a new time tree for the early evolution of reptiles and their closest relatives to reconstruct how the Permian-Triassic climatic crises shaped their long-term evolutionary trajectory. By combining rates of phenotypic evolution, mode of selection, body size, and global temperature data, we reveal an intimate association between reptile evolutionary dynamics and climate change in the deep past. We show that the origin and phenotypic radiation of reptiles was not solely driven by ecological opportunity following the end-Permian extinction as previously thought but also the result of multiple adaptive responses to climatic shifts spanning 57 million years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago R. Simões
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - Christian F. Kammerer
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7617, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Michael W. Caldwell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 11645 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 11645 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Stephanie E. Pierce
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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8
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Feng X, Chen ZQ, Benton MJ, Su C, Bottjer DJ, Cribb AT, Li Z, Zhao L, Zhu G, Huang Y, Guo Z. Resilience of infaunal ecosystems during the Early Triassic greenhouse Earth. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabo0597. [PMID: 35767613 PMCID: PMC9242451 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo0597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The Permian-Triassic mass extinction severely depleted biodiversity, primarily observed in the body fossil of well-skeletonized animals. Understanding how whole ecosystems were affected and rebuilt following the crisis requires evidence from both skeletonized and soft-bodied animals; the best comprehensive information on soft-bodied animals comes from ichnofossils. We analyzed abundant trace fossils from 26 sections across the Permian-Triassic boundary in China and report key metrics of ichnodiversity, ichnodisparity, ecospace utilization, and ecosystem engineering. We find that infaunal ecologic structure was well established in the early Smithian. Decoupling of diversity between deposit feeders and suspension feeders in carbonate ramp-platform settings implies that an effect of trophic group amensalism could have delayed the recovery of nonmotile, suspension-feeding epifauna in the Early Triassic. This differential reaction of infaunal ecosystems to variable environmental controls thus played a substantial but heretofore little appreciated evolutionary and ecologic role in the overall recovery in the hot Early Triassic ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqian Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Zhong-Qiang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Michael J. Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
| | - Chunmei Su
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - David J. Bottjer
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Alison T. Cribb
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ziheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Laishi Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Guangyou Zhu
- Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yuangeng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Zhen Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
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9
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Cohen PA, Junium CK, King Phillips E, Uveges BT. Carbon cycle dynamics and ecology revealed by the carbon isotopic composition of single organic microfossils during the Late Devonian Biotic Crisis. GEOBIOLOGY 2022; 20:346-362. [PMID: 34904359 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We apply a new approach for the δ13 C analysis of single organic-walled microfossils (OWM) to three sites in the Appalachian Basin of New York (AB) that span the Late Devonian Biotic Crisis (LDBC). Our data provide new insights into the nature of the Frasnian-Famennian carbon cycle in the AB and also provide possible constraints on the paleoecology of enigmatic OWM ubiquitous in Paleozoic shale successions. The carbon isotope compositions of OWM are consistent with normal marine organic matter of autochthonous origins and range from -32 to -17‰, but average -25‰ across all samples and are consistently 13 C-enriched compared to bulk sediments (δ13 Cbulk ) by ~0-10‰. We observe no difference between the δ13 COWM of leiospheres (smooth-walled) and acanthomorphic (spinose) acritarch OWM, indicating that our data are driven by ecological rather than taxonomic signals. We hypothesize that the offset between δ13 COWM and δ13 Cbulk is in part due to a large δ13 C gradient in the AB water column where OWM utilized relatively 13 C-enriched dissolved inorganic carbon near the surface. Thus, the organisms producing the balance of the total organic carbon were assimilating 13 C-depleted C sources, including but not limited to respired organic carbon or byproducts of fermentation. We also observe a systematic decrease in both δ13 COWM and δ13 Cbulk of 3‰ from shoreward to open-ocean facies that may reflect the effect of 13 C-enriched dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) derived from riverine sources in the relatively enclosed AB. The hypothesized steep carbon isotope gradient in the AB could be due to a strong biological pump; this in turn may have contributed to low oxygen bottom water conditions during the LDBC. This is the first time single-microfossil δ13 Corg analyses of eukaryotes have been directly compared to bulk δ13 Corg in the deep-time fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phoebe A Cohen
- Geosciences Department, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christopher K Junium
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | | | - Benjamin T Uveges
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
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10
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Massive and rapid predominantly volcanic CO 2 emission during the end-Permian mass extinction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2014701118. [PMID: 34493684 PMCID: PMC8449420 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014701118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Permian mass extinction event (∼252 Mya) is associated with one of the largest global carbon cycle perturbations in the Phanerozoic and is thought to be triggered by the Siberian Traps volcanism. Sizable carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) have been found at numerous sites around the world, suggesting massive quantities of 13C-depleted CO2 input into the ocean and atmosphere system. The exact magnitude and cause of the CIEs, the pace of CO2 emission, and the total quantity of CO2, however, remain poorly known. Here, we quantify the CO2 emission in an Earth system model based on new compound-specific carbon isotope records from the Finnmark Platform and an astronomically tuned age model. By quantitatively comparing the modeled surface ocean pH and boron isotope pH proxy, a massive (∼36,000 Gt C) and rapid emission (∼5 Gt C yr-1) of largely volcanic CO2 source (∼-15%) is necessary to drive the observed pattern of CIE, the abrupt decline in surface ocean pH, and the extreme global temperature increase. This suggests that the massive amount of greenhouse gases may have pushed the Earth system toward a critical tipping point, beyond which extreme changes in ocean pH and temperature led to irreversible mass extinction. The comparatively amplified CIE observed in higher plant leaf waxes suggests that the surface waters of the Finnmark Platform were likely out of equilibrium with the initial massive centennial-scale release of carbon from the massive Siberian Traps volcanism, supporting the rapidity of carbon injection. Our modeling work reveals that carbon emission pulses are accompanied by organic carbon burial, facilitated by widespread ocean anoxia.
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11
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Bicknell RDC, Shcherbakov DE. New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11709. [PMID: 34249518 PMCID: PMC8254475 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Horseshoe crabs are extant marine euchelicerates that have a fossil record extending well into the Palaeozoic. Extreme xiphosurid morphologies arose during this evolutionary history. These forms often reflected the occupation of freshwater or marginal conditions. This is particularly the case for Austrolimulidae—a xiphosurid family that has recently been subject to thorough taxonomic examination. Expanding the austrolimulid record, we present new material from the Olenekian-aged Petropavlovka Formation in European Russia and assign this material to Attenborolimulus superspinosus gen. et sp. nov. A geometric morphometric analysis of 23 horseshoe crab genera illustrates that the new taxon is distinct from limulid and paleolimulid morphologies, supporting the assignment within Austrolimulidae. In considering Triassic austrolimulids, we suggest that the hypertrophy or reduction in exoskeletal sections illustrate how species within the family evolved as opportunistic taxa after the end-Permian extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell D C Bicknell
- Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Dmitry E Shcherbakov
- Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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12
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Singh SA, Elsler A, Stubbs TL, Bond R, Rayfield EJ, Benton MJ. Niche partitioning shaped herbivore macroevolution through the early Mesozoic. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2796. [PMID: 33990610 PMCID: PMC8121902 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23169-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The Triassic (252-201 Ma) marks a major punctuation in Earth history, when ecosystems rebuilt themselves following the devastating Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Herbivory evolved independently several times as ecosystems comprising diverse assemblages of therapsids, parareptiles and archosauromorphs rose and fell, leading to a world dominated by dinosaurs. It was assumed that dinosaurs prevailed either through long-term competitive replacement of the incumbent clades or rapidly and opportunistically following one or more extinction events. Here we use functional morphology and ecology to explore herbivore morphospace through the Triassic and Early Jurassic. We identify five main herbivore guilds (ingestion generalists, prehension specialists, durophagous specialists, shearing pulpers, and heavy oral processors), and find that herbivore clades generally avoided competition by almost exclusively occupying different guilds. Major ecosystem remodelling was triggered multiple times by external environmental challenges, and previously dominant herbivores were marginalised by newly emerging forms. Dinosaur dominance was a mix of opportunity following disaster, combined with competitive advantage in their new world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suresh A Singh
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - Armin Elsler
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Thomas L Stubbs
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Russell Bond
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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13
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Petti FM, Furrer H, Collo E, Martinetto E, Bernardi M, Delfino M, Romano M, Piazza M. Archosauriform footprints in the Lower Triassic of Western Alps and their role in understanding the effects of the Permian-Triassic hyperthermal. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10522. [PMID: 33384899 PMCID: PMC7751423 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The most accepted killing model for the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) postulates that massive volcanic eruption (i.e., the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province) led to geologically rapid global warming, acid rain and ocean anoxia. On land, habitable zones were drastically reduced, due to the combined effects of heating, drought and acid rains. This hyperthermal had severe effects also on the paleobiogeography of several groups of organisms. Among those, the tetrapods, whose geographical distribution across the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) was the subject of controversy in a number of recent papers. We here describe and interpret a new Early Triassic (?Olenekian) archosauriform track assemblage from the Gardetta Plateau (Briançonnais, Western Alps, Italy) which, at the Permian-Triassic boundary, was placed at about 11° North. The tracks, both arranged in trackways and documented by single, well-preserved imprints, are assigned to Isochirotherium gardettensis ichnosp. nov., and are here interpreted as produced by a non-archosaurian archosauriform (erytrosuchid?) trackmaker. This new discovery provides further evidence for the presence of archosauriformes at low latitudes during the Early Triassic epoch, supporting a model in which the PTME did not completely vacate low-latitude lands from tetrapods that therefore would have been able to cope with the extreme hot temperatures of Pangaea mainland.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heinz Furrer
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Edoardo Martinetto
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Massimo Delfino
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona. Edifici ICTA-ICP, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marco Romano
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza, University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Piazza
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita, Università di Genova, Genoa, Italy
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14
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Schneebeli-Hermann E, Bagherpour B, Vennemann T, Leu M, Bucher H. Sedimentary organic matter from a cored Early Triassic succession, Georgetown (Idaho, USA). SWISS JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 2020; 139:5. [PMID: 32647528 PMCID: PMC7328446 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-020-00205-9] [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: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The plant fossil record from Lower Triassic sedimentary successions of the Western USA is extremely meager. In this study, samples from a drill core taken near Georgetown, Idaho, were analyzed for their palynological content as well as their stable carbon isotope composition. The concentration of palynomorphs is generally low. The lowermost part of the drilled succession represents Dinwoody/Woodside Formation and contains spore and pollen assemblages with Permian and Early Triassic affinity. Representatives of lycophytes (Densoisporites spp., Lundbladisporites spp.) were found in the overlying Meekoceras Limestone, in agreement with middle Smithian assemblages elsewhere. Ammonoids and conodonts are extremely rare, but confirm a middle Smithian age. Bulk organic and carbonate carbon isotope composition provide a stratigraphic framework. Carbonate carbon isotope compositions are compatible with the Smithian-Spathian global trend, with a middle Smithian shift towards lower δ13C values followed by a late Smithian shift towards higher values. Bulk organic carbon isotope compositions have been influenced by changes in the constitution of organic matter. A comparison with other paired carbon isotope datasets from the same basin is difficult due to lithostratigraphic inconsistencies (Hot Springs, ID) or biochemical mediated disturbance of isotope signals (Mineral Mountains, UT).
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke Schneebeli-Hermann
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Str. 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Borhan Bagherpour
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Str. 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Torsten Vennemann
- Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marc Leu
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Str. 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hugo Bucher
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Str. 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
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15
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Complex marine bioturbation ecosystem engineering behaviors persisted in the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction. Sci Rep 2020; 10:203. [PMID: 31937801 PMCID: PMC6959249 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56740-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe mass extinction event of the Phanerozoic and was followed by a several million-year delay in benthic ecosystem recovery. While much work has been done to understand biotic recovery in both the body and trace fossil records of the Early Triassic, almost no focus has previously been given to analyzing patterns in ecosystem engineering complexity as a result of the extinction drivers. Bioturbation is a key ecosystem engineering behavior in marine environments, as it results in changes to resource flows and the physical environment. Thus, the trace fossil record can be used to examine the effect of the end-Permian mass extinction on bioturbating ecosystem engineers. We present a dataset compiled from previously published literature to analyze burrowing ecosystem engineering behaviors through the Permian-Triassic boundary. We report two key observations: first, that there is no loss in bioturbation ecosystem engineering behaviors after the mass extinction, and second, that these persisting behaviors include deep tier, high-impact, complex ecosystem engineering. These findings suggest that while environmental conditions may have limited deeper burrowing, complex ecosystem engineering behaviors were able to persist in the Early Triassic. Furthermore, the persistence of deep tier bioirrigated three-dimensional network burrows implies that benthic biogeochemical cycling could have been maintained at pre-extinction states in some local environments, stimulating ecosystem productivity and promoting biotic recovery in the Early Triassic.
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16
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Augland LE, Ryabov VV, Vernikovsky VA, Planke S, Polozov AG, Callegaro S, Jerram DA, Svensen HH. The main pulse of the Siberian Traps expanded in size and composition. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18723. [PMID: 31822688 PMCID: PMC6904769 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54023-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Emplacement of large volumes of (sub)volcanic rocks during the main pulse of the Siberian Traps occurred within <1 m.y., coinciding with the end-Permian mass extinction. Volcanics from outside the main Siberian Traps, e.g. Taimyr and West Siberia, have since long been correlated, but existing geochronological data cannot resolve at a precision better than ~5 m.y. whether (sub)volcanic activity in these areas actually occurred during the main pulse or later. We report the first high precision U-Pb zircon geochronology from two alkaline ultramafic-felsic layered intrusive complexes from Taimyr, showing synchronicity between these and the main Siberian Traps (sub)volcanic pulse, and the presence of a second Dinerian-Smithian pulse. This is the first documentation of felsic intrusive magmatism occurring during the main pulse, testifying to the Siberian Trap's compositional diversity. Furthermore, the intrusions cut basal basalts of the Taimyr lava stratigraphy hence providing a minimum age of these basalts of 251.64 ± 0.11 Ma. Synchronicity of (sub)volcanic activity between Taimyr and the Siberian Traps imply that the total area of the Siberian Traps main pulse should include a ~300 000 km2 area north of Norilsk. The vast aerial extent of the (sub)volcanic activity during the Siberian Traps main pulse may explain the severe environmental consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- L E Augland
- Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - V V Ryabov
- Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - V A Vernikovsky
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia.,Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - S Planke
- Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research (VBPR), Oslo Innovation Center, Oslo, Norway
| | - A G Polozov
- Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (IGEM RAS), Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - S Callegaro
- Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - D A Jerram
- Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,DougalEARTH Ltd, Solihull, UK
| | - H H Svensen
- Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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17
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Abstract
Sub-seafloor microbial environments exhibit large carbon-isotope fractionation effects as a result of microbial enzymatic reactions. Isotopically light, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) derived from organic carbon is commonly released into the interstitial water due to microbial dissimilatory processes prevailing in the sub-surface biosphere. Much stronger carbon-isotope fractionation occurs, however, during methanogenesis, whereby methane is depleted in 13C and, by mass balance, DIC is enriched in 13C, such that isotopic distributions are predominantly influenced by microbial metabolisms involving methane. Methane metabolisms are essentially mediated through a single enzymatic pathway in both Archaea and Bacteria, the Wood–Ljungdahl (WL) pathway, but it remains unclear where in the pathway carbon-isotope fractionation occurs. While it is generally assumed that fractionation arises from kinetic effects of enzymatic reactions, it has recently been suggested that partial carbon-isotope equilibration occurs within the pathway of anaerobic methane oxidation. Equilibrium fractionation might also occur during methanogenesis, as the isotopic difference between DIC and methane is commonly on the order of 75‰, which is near the thermodynamic equilibrium. The isotopic signature in DIC and methane highly varies in marine porewaters, reflecting the distribution of different microbial metabolisms contributing to DIC. If carbon isotopes are preserved in diagenetic carbonates, they may provide a powerful biosignature for the conditions in the deep biosphere, specifically in proximity to the sulphate–methane transition zone. Large variations in isotopic signatures in diagenetic archives have been found that document dramatic changes in sub-seafloor biosphere activity over geological time scales. We present a brief overview on carbon isotopes, including microbial fractionation mechanisms, transport effects, preservation in diagenetic carbonate archives, and their implications for the past sub-seafloor biosphere and its role in the global carbon cycle. We discuss open questions and future potentials of carbon isotopes as archives to trace the deep biosphere through time.
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18
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Ward BA, Collins S, Dutkiewicz S, Gibbs S, Bown P, Ridgwell A, Sauterey B, Wilson JD, Oschlies A. Considering the Role of Adaptive Evolution in Models of the Ocean and Climate System. JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS 2019; 11:3343-3361. [PMID: 32025278 PMCID: PMC6988444 DOI: 10.1029/2018ms001452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Numerical models have been highly successful in simulating global carbon and nutrient cycles in today's ocean, together with observed spatial and temporal patterns of chlorophyll and plankton biomass at the surface. With this success has come some confidence in projecting the century-scale response to continuing anthropogenic warming. There is also increasing interest in using such models to understand the role of plankton ecosystems in past oceans. However, today's marine environment is the product of billions of years of continual evolution-a process that continues today. In this paper, we address the questions of whether an assumption of species invariance is sufficient, and if not, under what circumstances current model projections might break down. To do this, we first identify the key timescales and questions asked of models. We then review how current marine ecosystem models work and what alternative approaches are available to account for evolution. We argue that for timescales of climate change overlapping with evolutionary timescales, accounting for evolution may to lead to very different projected outcomes regarding the timescales of ecosystem response and associated global biogeochemical cycling. This is particularly the case for past extinction events but may also be true in the future, depending on the eventual degree of anthropogenic disruption. The discipline of building new numerical models that incorporate evolution is also hugely beneficial in itself, as it forces us to question what we know about adaptive evolution, irrespective of its quantitative role in any specific event or environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. A. Ward
- Ocean and Earth ScienceUniversity of SouthamptonSouthamptonUK
| | - S. Collins
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - S. Dutkiewicz
- Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary SciencesMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | - S. Gibbs
- Ocean and Earth ScienceUniversity of SouthamptonSouthamptonUK
| | - P. Bown
- Department of GeologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - A. Ridgwell
- Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaRiversideCAUSA
- School of Geographical SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - B. Sauterey
- Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS)ParisFrance
| | - J. D. Wilson
- School of Geographical SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - A. Oschlies
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean ResearchKielGermany
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19
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Abstract
The history of the carbon cycle is punctuated by enigmatic transient changes in the ocean's store of carbon. Mass extinction is always accompanied by such a disruption, but most disruptions are relatively benign. The less calamitous group exhibits a characteristic rate of change whereas greater surges accompany mass extinctions. To better understand these observations, I formulate and analyze a mathematical model that suggests that disruptions are initiated by perturbation of a permanently stable steady state beyond a threshold. The ensuing excitation exhibits the characteristic surge of real disruptions. In this view, the magnitude and timescale of the disruption are properties of the carbon cycle itself rather than its perturbation. Surges associated with mass extinction, however, require additional inputs from external sources such as massive volcanism. Surges are excited when [Formula: see text] enters the oceans at a flux that exceeds a threshold. The threshold depends on the duration of the injection. For injections lasting a time [Formula: see text] y in the modern carbon cycle, the threshold flux is constant; for smaller [Formula: see text], the threshold scales like [Formula: see text] Consequently the unusually strong but geologically brief duration of modern anthropogenic oceanic [Formula: see text] uptake is roughly equivalent, in terms of its potential to excite a major disruption, to relatively weak but longer-lived perturbations associated with massive volcanism in the geologic past.
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20
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Benton MJ, Dhouailly D, Jiang B, McNamara M. The Early Origin of Feathers. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 34:856-869. [PMID: 31164250 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Feathers have long been regarded as the innovation that drove the success of birds. However, feathers have been reported from close dinosaurian relatives of birds, and now from ornithischian dinosaurs and pterosaurs, the cousins of dinosaurs. Incomplete preservation makes these reports controversial. If true, these findings shift the origin of feathers back 80 million years before the origin of birds. Gene regulatory networks show the deep homology of scales, feathers, and hairs. Hair and feathers likely evolved in the Early Triassic ancestors of mammals and birds, at a time when synapsids and archosaurs show independent evidence of higher metabolic rates (erect gait and endothermy), as part of a major resetting of terrestrial ecosystems following the devastating end-Permian mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Baoyu Jiang
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Maria McNamara
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Cork, Cork, Ireland
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21
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Weil A, Kirchner JW. Diversity on the rebound. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:873-874. [PMID: 30962563 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0883-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Weil
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - James W Kirchner
- Department of Environmental System Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
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22
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Shen J, Chen J, Algeo TJ, Yuan S, Feng Q, Yu J, Zhou L, O'Connell B, Planavsky NJ. Evidence for a prolonged Permian-Triassic extinction interval from global marine mercury records. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1563. [PMID: 30952859 PMCID: PMC6450928 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09620-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The latest Permian mass extinction, the most devastating biocrisis of the Phanerozoic, has been widely attributed to eruptions of the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province, although evidence of a direct link has been scant to date. Here, we measure mercury (Hg), assumed to reflect shifts in volcanic activity, across the Permian-Triassic boundary in ten marine sections across the Northern Hemisphere. Hg concentration peaks close to the Permian-Triassic boundary suggest coupling of biotic extinction and increased volcanic activity. Additionally, Hg isotopic data for a subset of these sections provide evidence for largely atmospheric rather than terrestrial Hg sources, further linking Hg enrichment to increased volcanic activity. Hg peaks in shallow-water sections were nearly synchronous with the end-Permian extinction horizon, while those in deep-water sections occurred tens of thousands of years before the main extinction, possibly supporting a globally diachronous biotic turnover and protracted mass extinction event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, Hubei, China. .,Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520-8109, USA.
| | - Jiubin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China.,Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, 300072, Nankai, Tianjin, China
| | - Thomas J Algeo
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, Hubei, China.,State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, Hubei, China.,Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0013, USA
| | - Shengliu Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China
| | - Qinglai Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Jianxin Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Lian Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Brennan O'Connell
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520-8109, USA
| | - Noah J Planavsky
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520-8109, USA
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23
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Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ. The rise of the ruling reptiles and ecosystem recovery from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180361. [PMID: 29899066 PMCID: PMC6015845 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the key faunal transitions in Earth history occurred after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction (ca 252.2 Ma), when the previously obscure archosauromorphs (which include crocodylians, dinosaurs and birds) become the dominant terrestrial vertebrates. Here, we place all known middle Permian-early Late Triassic archosauromorph species into an explicit phylogenetic context, and quantify biodiversity change through this interval. Our results indicate the following sequence of diversification: a morphologically conservative and globally distributed post-extinction 'disaster fauna'; a major but cryptic and poorly sampled phylogenetic diversification with significantly elevated evolutionary rates; and a marked increase in species counts, abundance, and disparity contemporaneous with global ecosystem stabilization some 5 million years after the extinction. This multiphase event transformed global ecosystems, with far-reaching consequences for Mesozoic and modern faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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24
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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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25
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Wood R, Erwin DH. Innovation not recovery: dynamic redox promotes metazoan radiations. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2017; 93:863-873. [PMID: 29034568 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Revised: 09/11/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Environmental fluctuations in redox may reinforce rather than hinder evolutionary transitions, such that variability in near-surface oceanic oxygenation can promote morphological evolution and novelty. Modern, low-oxygen regions are heterogeneous and dynamic habitats that support low diversity and are inhabited by opportunistic and non-skeletal metazoans. We note that several major radiation episodes follow protracted or repeating intervals (>1 million years) of persistent and dynamic shallow marine redox (oceanic anoxic events). These are also often associated with short-lived mass-extinction events (<0.5 million years) where skeletal benthic incumbents are removed, and surviving or newly evolved benthos initially inhabit transient oxic habitats. We argue that such intervals create critical opportunities for the generation of evolutionary novelty, followed by innovation and diversification. We develop a general model for redox controls on the distribution and structure of the shallow marine benthos in a dominantly anoxic world, and compile data from the terminal Ediacaran-mid-Cambrian (∼560-509 Ma), late Cambrian-Ordovician (∼500-445 Ma), and Permo-Triassic (∼255-205 Ma) to test these predictions. Assembly of phylogenetic data shows that prolonged and widespread anoxic intervals indeed promoted morphological novelty in soft-bodied benthos, providing the ancestral stock for subsequently skeletonized lineages to appear as innovations once oxic conditions became widespread and stable, in turn promoting major evolutionary diversification. As a result, we propose that so-called 'recovery' intervals after mass extinctions might be better considered as 'innovation' intervals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Wood
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, U.K
| | - Douglas H Erwin
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, U.S.A
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26
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Rothman DH. Thresholds of catastrophe in the Earth system. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1700906. [PMID: 28948221 PMCID: PMC5606709 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The history of the Earth system is a story of change. Some changes are gradual and benign, but others, especially those associated with catastrophic mass extinction, are relatively abrupt and destructive. What sets one group apart from the other? Here, I hypothesize that perturbations of Earth's carbon cycle lead to mass extinction if they exceed either a critical rate at long time scales or a critical size at short time scales. By analyzing 31 carbon isotopic events during the past 542 million years, I identify the critical rate with a limit imposed by mass conservation. Identification of the crossover time scale separating fast from slow events then yields the critical size. The modern critical size for the marine carbon cycle is roughly similar to the mass of carbon that human activities will likely have added to the oceans by the year 2100.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel H Rothman
- Lorenz Center, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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27
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Initial pulse of Siberian Traps sills as the trigger of the end-Permian mass extinction. Nat Commun 2017; 8:164. [PMID: 28761160 PMCID: PMC5537227 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00083-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mass extinction events are short-lived and characterized by catastrophic biosphere collapse and subsequent reorganization. Their abrupt nature necessitates a similarly short-lived trigger, and large igneous province magmatism is often implicated. However, large igneous provinces are long-lived compared to mass extinctions. Therefore, if large igneous provinces are an effective trigger, a subinterval of magmatism must be responsible for driving deleterious environmental effects. The onset of Earth’s most severe extinction, the end-Permian, coincided with an abrupt change in the emplacement style of the contemporaneous Siberian Traps large igneous province, from dominantly flood lavas to sill intrusions. Here we identify the initial emplacement pulse of laterally extensive sills as the critical deadly interval. Heat from these sills exposed untapped volatile-fertile sediments to contact metamorphism, likely liberating the massive greenhouse gas volumes needed to drive extinction. These observations suggest that large igneous provinces characterized by sill complexes are more likely to trigger catastrophic global environmental change than their flood basalt- and/or dike-dominated counterparts. Although the mass end-Permian extinction is linked to large igneous provinces, its trigger remains unclear. Here, the authors propose that the abrupt change from flood lavas to sills resulted in the heating of sediments and led to the release of large-scale greenhouse gases to drive the end-Permian extinction.
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28
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Abstract
Macrostratigraphy is the study and statistical analysis of sediment packages that formed continuously at a specified scale of temporal resolution and that are bound by gaps recognizable at that same scale. The temporal ranges of gap-bound packages, compiled separately for different geographic locations, permit area-weighted, survivorship-based measures of rock quantity and spatio-temporal environmental continuity to be measured. Analytical basin fill models suggest that the parameters controlling sedimentation and sequence stratigraphic architecture, such as base level and sediment supply, can be detected quantitatively by macrostratigraphy.Macrostratigraphic analysis of the marine sedimentary rock record in the United States at a temporal resolution of ~106 years reproduces most of the well-known Sloss sequences, but it also identifies two prominent megasequences, the Paleozoic and Modern megasequences, which are separated by a Permian-Triassic discontinuity and Phanerozoic minimum in rock quantity. Many short- and long-term features of the macroevolutionary history of marine animals are reproduced by macrostratigraphy, including 1) many patterns in genus richness, 2) patterns in rates of genus extinction and, to a lesser degree, rates of origination, and 3) patterns of extinction selectivity and the shifting relative richness of Sepkoski's Paleozoic and Modern evolutionary faunas. The extent to which macrostratigraphy reproduces the macroevolutionary history of marine animals transcends what is expected by geologically-controlled sampling biases. Instead, the processes which control the spatio-temporal dynamics of shelf sedimentation, including expansions and contractions of shallow epicontinental seas, have probably exerted a consistent influence on the macroevolutionary history of marine animals. Exploring the common cause hypothesis by putting fossils back into rocks and rocks into a new quantitative framework for physical environmental change holds considerable promise for paleobiology.
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Clapham ME. Organism activity levels predict marine invertebrate survival during ancient global change extinctions. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:1477-1485. [PMID: 27570079 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Revised: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Multistressor global change, the combined influence of ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation, poses a serious threat to marine organisms. Experimental studies imply that organisms with higher levels of activity should be more resilient, but testing this prediction and understanding organism vulnerability at a global scale, over evolutionary timescales, and in natural ecosystems remain challenging. The fossil record, which contains multiple extinctions triggered by multistressor global change, is ideally suited for testing hypotheses at broad geographic, taxonomic, and temporal scales. Here, I assess the importance of activity level for survival of well-skeletonized benthic marine invertebrates over a 100-million-year-long interval (Permian to Jurassic periods) containing four global change extinctions, including the end-Permian and end-Triassic mass extinctions. More active organisms, based on a semiquantitative score incorporating feeding and motility, were significantly more likely to survive during three of the four extinction events (Guadalupian, end-Permian, and end-Triassic). In contrast, activity was not an important control on survival during nonextinction intervals. Both the end-Permian and end-Triassic mass extinctions also triggered abrupt shifts to increased dominance by more active organisms. Although mean activity gradually returned toward pre-extinction values, the net result was a permanent ratcheting of ecosystem-wide activity to higher levels. Selectivity patterns during ancient global change extinctions confirm the hypothesis that higher activity, a proxy for respiratory physiology, is a fundamental control on survival, although the roles of specific physiological traits (such as extracellular pCO2 or aerobic scope) cannot be distinguished. Modern marine ecosystems are dominated by more active organisms, in part because of selectivity ratcheting during these ancient extinctions, so on average may be less vulnerable to global change stressors than ancient counterparts. However, ancient extinctions demonstrate that even active organisms can suffer major extinction when the intensity of environmental disruption is intense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Clapham
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California - Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
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Subsequent biotic crises delayed marine recovery following the late Permian mass extinction event in northern Italy. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172321. [PMID: 28296886 PMCID: PMC5351997 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The late Permian mass extinction event was the largest biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic and has the longest recovery interval of any extinction event. It has been hypothesised that subsequent carbon isotope perturbations during the Early Triassic are associated with biotic crises that impeded benthic recovery. We test this hypothesis by undertaking the highest-resolution study yet made of the rock and fossil records of the entire Werfen Formation, Italy. Here, we show that elevated extinction rates were recorded not only in the Dienerian, as previously recognised, but also around the Smithian/Spathian boundary. Functional richness increases across the Smithian/Spathian boundary associated with elevated origination rates in the lower Spathian. The taxonomic and functional composition of benthic faunas only recorded two significant changes: (1) reduced heterogeneity in the Dienerian, and (2) and a faunal turnover across the Smithian/Spathian boundary. The elevated extinctions and compositional shifts in the Dienerian and across the Smithian/Spathian boundary are associated with a negative and positive isotope excursion, respectively, which supports the hypothesis that subsequent biotic crises are associated with carbon isotope shifts. The Spathian fauna represents a more advanced ecological state, not recognised in the previous members of the Werfen Formation, with increased habitat differentiation, a shift in the dominant modes of life, appearance of stenohaline taxa and the occupation of the erect and infaunal tiers. In addition to subsequent biotic crises delaying the recovery, therefore, persistent environmental stress limited the ecological complexity of benthic recovery prior to the Spathian.
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Redox chemistry changes in the Panthalassic Ocean linked to the end-Permian mass extinction and delayed Early Triassic biotic recovery. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:1806-1810. [PMID: 28167796 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1610931114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Permian mass extinction represents the most severe biotic crisis for the last 540 million years, and the marine ecosystem recovery from this extinction was protracted, spanning the entirety of the Early Triassic and possibly longer. Numerous studies from the low-latitude Paleotethys and high-latitude Boreal oceans have examined the possible link between ocean chemistry changes and the end-Permian mass extinction. However, redox chemistry changes in the Panthalassic Ocean, comprising ∼85-90% of the global ocean area, remain under debate. Here, we report multiple S-isotopic data of pyrite from Upper Permian-Lower Triassic deep-sea sediments of the Panthalassic Ocean, now present in outcrops of western Canada and Japan. We find a sulfur isotope signal of negative Δ33S with either positive δ34S or negative δ34S that implies mixing of sulfide sulfur with different δ34S before, during, and after the end-Permian mass extinction. The precise coincidence of the negative Δ33S anomaly with the extinction horizon in western Canada suggests that shoaling of H2S-rich waters may have driven the end-Permian mass extinction. Our data also imply episodic euxinia and oscillations between sulfidic and oxic conditions during the earliest Triassic, providing evidence of a causal link between incursion of sulfidic waters and the delayed recovery of the marine ecosystem.
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32
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Brayard A, Krumenacker LJ, Botting JP, Jenks JF, Bylund KG, Fara E, Vennin E, Olivier N, Goudemand N, Saucède T, Charbonnier S, Romano C, Doguzhaeva L, Thuy B, Hautmann M, Stephen DA, Thomazo C, Escarguel G. Unexpected Early Triassic marine ecosystem and the rise of the Modern evolutionary fauna. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1602159. [PMID: 28246643 PMCID: PMC5310825 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1602159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
In the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction, the Early Triassic (~251.9 to 247 million years ago) is portrayed as an environmentally unstable interval characterized by several biotic crises and heavily depauperate marine benthic ecosystems. We describe a new fossil assemblage-the Paris Biota-from the earliest Spathian (middle Olenekian, ~250.6 million years ago) of the Bear Lake area, southeastern Idaho, USA. This highly diversified assemblage documents a remarkably complex marine ecosystem including at least seven phyla and 20 distinct metazoan orders, along with algae. Most unexpectedly, it combines early Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic taxa previously unknown from the Triassic strata, among which are primitive Cambrian-Ordovician leptomitid sponges (a 200-million year Lazarus taxon) and gladius-bearing coleoid cephalopods, a poorly documented group before the Jurassic (~50 million years after the Early Triassic). Additionally, the crinoid and ophiuroid specimens show derived anatomical characters that were thought to have evolved much later. Unlike previous works that suggested a sluggish postcrisis recovery and a low diversity for the Early Triassic benthic organisms, the unexpected composition of this exceptional assemblage points toward an early and rapid post-Permian diversification for these clades. Overall, it illustrates a phylogenetically diverse, functionally complex, and trophically multileveled marine ecosystem, from primary producers up to top predators and potential scavengers. Hence, the Paris Biota highlights the key evolutionary position of Early Triassic fossil ecosystems in the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern marine evolutionary fauna at the dawn of the Mesozoic era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Brayard
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282, CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France
- Corresponding author.
| | - L. J. Krumenacker
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, P.O. Box 173480, Bozeman, MT 59717–3480, USA
| | - Joseph P. Botting
- Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China
- Department of Geology, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP, U.K
| | | | | | - Emmanuel Fara
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282, CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Emmanuelle Vennin
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282, CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Nicolas Olivier
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, 5 rue Kessler, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Nicolas Goudemand
- Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon–CNRS 5242–Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique Unités Sous Contrat INRA USC 1370, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Thomas Saucède
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282, CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Sylvain Charbonnier
- Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Centre de Recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements (UMR 7207), Sorbonne Universités–MNHN, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Carlo Romano
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Larisa Doguzhaeva
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ben Thuy
- Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum Luxembourg, 25 rue Münster, L-2160 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Michael Hautmann
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel A. Stephen
- Department of Earth Science, Utah Valley University, 800 West University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058, USA
| | - Christophe Thomazo
- Biogéosciences UMR 6282, CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Gilles Escarguel
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, 27-43 Boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
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33
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Kaiho K, Saito R, Ito K, Miyaji T, Biswas R, Tian L, Sano H, Shi Z, Takahashi S, Tong J, Liang L, Oba M, Nara FW, Tsuchiya N, Chen ZQ. Effects of soil erosion and anoxic-euxinic ocean in the Permian-Triassic marine crisis. Heliyon 2016; 2:e00137. [PMID: 27547833 PMCID: PMC4983274 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2016.e00137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Revised: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The largest mass extinction of biota in the Earth’s history occurred during the Permian–Triassic transition and included two extinctions, one each at the latest Permian (first phase) and earliest Triassic (second phase). High seawater temperature in the surface water accompanied by euxinic deep-intermediate water, intrusion of the euxinic water to the surface water, a decrease in pH, and hypercapnia have been proposed as direct causes of the marine crisis. For the first-phase extinction, we here add a causal mechanism beginning from massive soil and rock erosion and leading to algal blooms, release of toxic components, asphyxiation, and oxygen-depleted nearshore bottom water that created environmental stress for nearshore marine animals. For the second-phase extinction, we show that a soil and rock erosion/algal bloom event did not occur, but culmination of anoxia–euxinia in intermediate waters did occur, spanning the second-phase extinction. We investigated sedimentary organic molecules, and the results indicated a peak of a massive soil erosion proxy followed by peaks of marine productivity proxy. Anoxic proxies of surface sediments and water occurred in the shallow nearshore sea at the eastern and western margins of the Paleotethys at the first-phase extinction horizon, but not at the second-phase extinction horizon. Our reconstruction of ocean redox structure at low latitudes indicates that a gradual increase in temperature spanning the two extinctions could have induced a gradual change from a well-mixed oxic to a stratified euxinic ocean beginning immediately prior to the first-phase extinction, followed by culmination of anoxia in nearshore surface waters and of anoxia and euxinia in the shallow-intermediate waters at the second-phase extinction over a period of approximately one million years or more. Enhanced global warming, ocean acidification, and hypercapnia could have caused the second-phase extinction approximately 60 kyr after the first-phase extinction. The causes of the first-phase extinction were not only those environmental stresses but also environmental stresses caused by the soil and rock erosion/algal bloom event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunio Kaiho
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Saito
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Kosuke Ito
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Takashi Miyaji
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Raman Biswas
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Li Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Hiroyoshi Sano
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Zhiqiang Shi
- Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
| | - Satoshi Takahashi
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Jinnan Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Lei Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Masahiro Oba
- Department of Earth Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Fumiko W Nara
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Noriyoshi Tsuchiya
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Zhong-Qiang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
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34
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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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35
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Jiang DY, Motani R, Huang JD, Tintori A, Hu YC, Rieppel O, Fraser NC, Ji C, Kelley NP, Fu WL, Zhang R. A large aberrant stem ichthyosauriform indicating early rise and demise of ichthyosauromorphs in the wake of the end-Permian extinction. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26232. [PMID: 27211319 PMCID: PMC4876504 DOI: 10.1038/srep26232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Contrary to the fast radiation of most metazoans after the end-Permian mass extinction, it is believed that early marine reptiles evolved slowly during the same time interval. However, emerging discoveries of Early Triassic marine reptiles are questioning this traditional view. Here we present an aberrant basal ichthyosauriform with a hitherto unknown body design that suggests a fast radiation of early marine reptiles. The new species is larger than coeval marine reptiles and has an extremely small head and a long tail without a fluke. Its heavily-built body bears flattened and overlapping gastral elements reminiscent of hupehsuchians. A phylogenetic analysis places the new species at the base of ichthyosauriforms, as the sister taxon of Cartorhynchus with which it shares a short snout with rostrally extended nasals. It now appears that ichthyosauriforms evolved rapidly within the first one million years of their evolution, in the Spathian (Early Triassic), and their true diversity has yet to be fully uncovered. Early ichthyosauromorphs quickly became extinct near the Early-Middle Triassic boundary, during the last large environmental perturbation after the end-Permian extinction involving redox fluctuations, sea level changes and volcanism. Marine reptile faunas shifted from ichthyosauromorph-dominated to sauropterygian-dominated composition after the perturbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da-Yong Jiang
- Laboratory of Orogenic Belt and Crustal Evolution, Ministry of Education; Department of Geology and Geological Museum, Peking University, Yiheyuan Street. 5, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Ryosuke Motani
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, United States of America
| | - Jian-Dong Huang
- Department of Research, Anhui Geological Museum, Jiahe Road 999, Hefei, Anhui 230031, People's Republic of China
| | - Andrea Tintori
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34-20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Yuan-Chao Hu
- Department of Research, Anhui Geological Museum, Jiahe Road 999, Hefei, Anhui 230031, People's Republic of China
| | - Olivier Rieppel
- Center of Integrative Research, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, United States of America
| | - Nicholas C Fraser
- National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, United Kingdom
| | - Cheng Ji
- Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Neil P Kelley
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560-0121, United States of America
| | - Wan-Lu Fu
- Laboratory of Orogenic Belt and Crustal Evolution, Ministry of Education; Department of Geology and Geological Museum, Peking University, Yiheyuan Street. 5, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Department of Research, Anhui Geological Museum, Jiahe Road 999, Hefei, Anhui 230031, People's Republic of China
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36
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Thomazo C, Vennin E, Brayard A, Bour I, Mathieu O, Elmeknassi S, Olivier N, Escarguel G, Bylund KG, Jenks J, Stephen DA, Fara E. A diagenetic control on the Early Triassic Smithian-Spathian carbon isotopic excursions recorded in the marine settings of the Thaynes Group (Utah, USA). GEOBIOLOGY 2016; 14:220-236. [PMID: 26842810 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction, Early Triassic sediments record some of the largest Phanerozoic carbon isotopic excursions. Among them, a global Smithian-negative carbonate carbon isotope excursion has been identified, followed by an abrupt increase across the Smithian-Spathian boundary (SSB; ~250.8 Myr ago). This chemostratigraphic evolution is associated with palaeontological evidence that indicate a major collapse of terrestrial and marine ecosystems during the Late Smithian. It is commonly assumed that Smithian and Spathian isotopic variations are intimately linked to major perturbations in the exogenic carbon reservoir. We present paired carbon isotopes measurements from the Thaynes Group (Utah, USA) to evaluate the extent to which the Early Triassic isotopic perturbations reflect changes in the exogenic carbon cycle. The δ(13) Ccarb variations obtained here reproduce the known Smithian δ(13) Ccarb -negative excursion. However, the δ(13) C signal of the bulk organic matter is invariant across the SSB and variations in the δ(34) S signal of sedimentary sulphides are interpreted here to reflect the intensity of sediment remobilization. We argue that Middle to Late Smithian δ(13) Ccarb signal in the shallow marine environments of the Thaynes Group does not reflect secular evolution of the exogenic carbon cycle but rather physicochemical conditions at the sediment-water interface leading to authigenic carbonate formation during early diagenetic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Thomazo
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - E Vennin
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - A Brayard
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - I Bour
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - O Mathieu
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - S Elmeknassi
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - N Olivier
- Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Université Blaise Pascal - CNRS - IRD, OPGC, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - G Escarguel
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, UMR CNRS 5023, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | | | | | - D A Stephen
- Department of Earth Science, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA
| | - E Fara
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
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37
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Breeding Young as a Survival Strategy during Earth's Greatest Mass Extinction. Sci Rep 2016; 6:24053. [PMID: 27044713 PMCID: PMC4820772 DOI: 10.1038/srep24053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of the effects of mass extinctions on ancient ecosystems have focused on changes in taxic diversity, morphological disparity, abundance, behaviour and resource availability as key determinants of group survival. Crucially, the contribution of life history traits to survival during terrestrial mass extinctions has not been investigated, despite the critical role of such traits for population viability. We use bone microstructure and body size data to investigate the palaeoecological implications of changes in life history strategies in the therapsid forerunners of mammals before and after the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME), the most catastrophic crisis in Phanerozoic history. Our results are consistent with truncated development, shortened life expectancies, elevated mortality rates and higher extinction risks amongst post-extinction species. Various simulations of ecological dynamics indicate that an earlier onset of reproduction leading to shortened generation times could explain the persistence of therapsids in the unpredictable, resource-limited Early Triassic environments, and help explain observed body size distributions of some disaster taxa (e.g., Lystrosaurus). Our study accounts for differential survival in mammal ancestors after the PTME and provides a methodological framework for quantifying survival strategies in other vertebrates during major biotic crises.
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38
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Zhao MY, Zheng YF, Zhao YY. Seeking a geochemical identifier for authigenic carbonate. Nat Commun 2016; 7:10885. [PMID: 26947562 PMCID: PMC4786675 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Authigenic carbonate was recently invoked as a third major global carbon sink in addition to primary marine carbonate and organic carbon. Distinguishing the two carbonate sinks is fundamental to our understanding of Earth's carbon cycle and its role in regulating the evolution of atmospheric oxygen. Here, using microscale geochemical measurements of carbonates in Early Triassic strata, we show that the growth of authigenic carbonate follows a different trajectory from primary marine carbonate in a cross-plot of uranium concentration and carbon isotope composition. Thus, a combination of the two geochemical variables is able to distinguish between the two carbonate sinks. The temporal distribution of authigenic carbonates in the Early Triassic strata suggests that the increase in the extent of carbonate authigenesis acted as a negative feedback to the elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration. Distinguishing between authigenic carbonate and primary marine carbonate is fundamental to our understanding of Earth's carbon, oxygen and calcium cycles. Here, the authors show that a combination of uranium concentration and carbon isotope composition is able to distinguish between the two carbonate sinks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Yu Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Yong-Fei Zheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Yan-Yan Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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39
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Marine anoxia and delayed Earth system recovery after the end-Permian extinction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:2360-5. [PMID: 26884155 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1515080113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Delayed Earth system recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction is often attributed to severe ocean anoxia. However, the extent and duration of Early Triassic anoxia remains poorly constrained. Here we use paired records of uranium concentrations ([U]) and (238)U/(235)U isotopic compositions (δ(238)U) of Upper Permian-Upper Triassic marine limestones from China and Turkey to quantify variations in global seafloor redox conditions. We observe abrupt decreases in [U] and δ(238)U across the end-Permian extinction horizon, from ∼3 ppm and -0.15‰ to ∼0.3 ppm and -0.77‰, followed by a gradual return to preextinction values over the subsequent 5 million years. These trends imply a factor of 100 increase in the extent of seafloor anoxia and suggest the presence of a shallow oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) that inhibited the recovery of benthic animal diversity and marine ecosystem function. We hypothesize that in the Early Triassic oceans-characterized by prolonged shallow anoxia that may have impinged onto continental shelves-global biogeochemical cycles and marine ecosystem structure became more sensitive to variation in the position of the OMZ. Under this hypothesis, the Middle Triassic decline in bottom water anoxia, stabilization of biogeochemical cycles, and diversification of marine animals together reflect the development of a deeper and less extensive OMZ, which regulated Earth system recovery following the end-Permian catastrophe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles R Marshall
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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41
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Abstract
The end-Permian mass extinction, the most severe biotic crisis in the Phanerozoic, was accompanied by climate change and expansion of oceanic anoxic zones. The partitioning of sulfur among different exogenic reservoirs by biological and physical processes was of importance for this biodiversity crisis, but the exact role of bioessential sulfur in the mass extinction is still unclear. Here we show that globally increased production of organic matter affected the seawater sulfate sulfur and oxygen isotope signature that has been recorded in carbonate rock spanning the Permian-Triassic boundary. A bifurcating temporal trend is observed for the strata spanning the marine mass extinction with carbonate-associated sulfate sulfur and oxygen isotope excursions toward decreased and increased values, respectively. By coupling these results to a box model, we show that increased marine productivity and successive enhanced microbial sulfate reduction is the most likely scenario to explain these temporal trends. The new data demonstrate that worldwide expansion of euxinic and anoxic zones are symptoms of increased biological carbon recycling in the marine realm initiated by global warming. The spatial distribution of sulfidic water column conditions in shallow seafloor environments is dictated by the severity and geographic patterns of nutrient fluxes and serves as an adequate model to explain the scale of the marine biodiversity crisis. Our results provide evidence that the major biodiversity crises in Earth's history do not necessarily implicate an ocean stripped of (most) life but rather the demise of certain eukaryotic organisms, leading to a decline in species richness.
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Burgess SD, Bowring SA. High-precision geochronology confirms voluminous magmatism before, during, and after Earth's most severe extinction. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2015; 1:e1500470. [PMID: 26601239 PMCID: PMC4643808 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe in the Phanerozoic, extinguishing more than 90% of marine and 75% of terrestrial species in a maximum of 61 ± 48 ky. Because of broad temporal coincidence between the biotic crisis and one of the most voluminous continental volcanic eruptions since the origin of animals, the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP), a causal connection has long been suggested. Magmatism is hypothesized to have caused rapid injection of massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, driving climate change and subsequent destabilization of the biosphere. Establishing a causal connection between magmatism and mass extinction is critically dependent on accurately and precisely knowing the relative timing of the two events and the flux of magma. New U/Pb dates on Siberian Traps LIP lava flows, sills, and explosively erupted rocks indicate that (i) about two-thirds of the total lava/pyroclastic volume was erupted over ~300 ky, before and concurrent with the end-Permian mass extinction; (ii) eruption of the balance of lavas continued for at least 500 ky after extinction cessation; and (iii) massive emplacement of sills into the shallow crust began concomitant with the mass extinction and continued for at least 500 ky into the early Triassic. This age model is consistent with Siberian Traps LIP magmatism as a trigger for the end-Permian mass extinction and suggests a role for magmatism in suppression of post-extinction biotic recovery.
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Motani R, Chen XH, Jiang DY, Cheng L, Tintori A, Rieppel O. Lunge feeding in early marine reptiles and fast evolution of marine tetrapod feeding guilds. Sci Rep 2015; 5:8900. [PMID: 25754468 PMCID: PMC4354009 DOI: 10.1038/srep08900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional wisdom holds that biotic recovery from the end-Permian extinction was slow and gradual, and was not complete until the Middle Triassic. Here, we report that the evolution of marine predator feeding guilds, and their trophic structure, proceeded faster. Marine reptile lineages with unique feeding adaptations emerged during the Early Triassic (about 248 million years ago), including the enigmatic Hupehsuchus that possessed an unusually slender mandible. A new specimen of this genus reveals a well-preserved palate and mandible, which suggest that it was a rare lunge feeder as also occurs in rorqual whales and pelicans. The diversity of feeding strategies among Triassic marine tetrapods reached their peak in the Early Triassic, soon after their first appearance in the fossil record. The diet of these early marine tetrapods most likely included soft-bodied animals that are not preserved as fossils. Early marine tetrapods most likely introduced a new trophic mechanism to redistribute nutrients to the top 10 m of the sea, where the primary productivity is highest. Therefore, a simple recovery to a Permian-like trophic structure does not explain the biotic changes seen after the Early Triassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Motani
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, U.S.A
| | - Xiao-hong Chen
- Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, Hubei 430023, P. R. China
| | - Da-yong Jiang
- Laboratory of Orogenic Belt and Crustal Evolution, Ministry of Education; Department of Geology and Geological Museum, Peking University, Yiheyuan Street. 5, Beijing 100871, P.R. China
| | - Long Cheng
- Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, Hubei 430023, P. R. China
| | - Andrea Tintori
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34-20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Olivier Rieppel
- Center of Integrative Research, The Field Museum, Chicago. IL 60605-2496, U.S.A
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Monnet C, Brayard A, Brosse M. Evolutionary Trends of Triassic Ammonoids. TOPICS IN GEOBIOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-9633-0_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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45
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Romano C, Koot MB, Kogan I, Brayard A, Minikh AV, Brinkmann W, Bucher H, Kriwet J. Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 91:106-47. [PMID: 25431138 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Revised: 10/14/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The Permian and Triassic were key time intervals in the history of life on Earth. Both periods are marked by a series of biotic crises including the most catastrophic of such events, the end-Permian mass extinction, which eventually led to a major turnover from typical Palaeozoic faunas and floras to those that are emblematic for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Here we review patterns in Permian-Triassic bony fishes, a group whose evolutionary dynamics are understudied. Based on data from primary literature, we analyse changes in their taxonomic diversity and body size (as a proxy for trophic position) and explore their response to Permian-Triassic events. Diversity and body size are investigated separately for different groups of Osteichthyes (Dipnoi, Actinistia, 'Palaeopterygii', 'Subholostei', Holostei, Teleosteomorpha), within the marine and freshwater realms and on a global scale (total diversity) as well as across palaeolatitudinal belts. Diversity is also measured for different palaeogeographical provinces. Our results suggest a general trend from low osteichthyan diversity in the Permian to higher levels in the Triassic. Diversity dynamics in the Permian are marked by a decline in freshwater taxa during the Cisuralian. An extinction event during the end-Guadalupian crisis is not evident from our data, but 'palaeopterygians' experienced a significant body size increase across the Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary and these fishes upheld their position as large, top predators from the Late Permian to the Late Triassic. Elevated turnover rates are documented at the Permian-Triassic boundary, and two distinct diversification events are noted in the wake of this biotic crisis, a first one during the Early Triassic (dipnoans, actinistians, 'palaeopterygians', 'subholosteans') and a second one during the Middle Triassic ('subholosteans', neopterygians). The origination of new, small taxa predominantly among these groups during the Middle Triassic event caused a significant reduction in osteichthyan body size. Neopterygii, the clade that encompasses the vast majority of extant fishes, underwent another diversification phase in the Late Triassic. The Triassic radiation of Osteichthyes, predominantly of Actinopterygii, which only occurred after severe extinctions among Chondrichthyes during the Middle-Late Permian, resulted in a profound change within global fish communities, from chondrichthyan-rich faunas of the Permo-Carboniferous to typical Mesozoic and Cenozoic associations dominated by actinopterygians. This turnover was not sudden but followed a stepwise pattern, with leaps during extinction events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Romano
- Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martha B Koot
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Technology), Plymouth University, Fitzroy Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, U.K
| | - Ilja Kogan
- Department of Palaeontology, Geological Institute, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Bernhard-von-Cotta-Strasse 2, 09596, Freiberg, Germany
| | - Arnaud Brayard
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Alla V Minikh
- Department of Historic Geology and Palaeontology, Saratov State University, 83 Astrakhanskaya Street, Saratov, 410012, Russia
| | - Winand Brinkmann
- Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hugo Bucher
- Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Geozentrum, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
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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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47
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Shen SZ, Bowring SA. The end-Permian mass extinction: a still unexplained catastrophe. Natl Sci Rev 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwu047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shu-zhong Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, China
| | - Samuel A. Bowring
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
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48
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Abstract
Dinosaurs arose in the early Triassic in the aftermath of the greatest mass extinction ever and became hugely successful in the Mesozoic. Their initial diversification is a classic example of a large-scale macroevolutionary change. Diversifications at such deep-time scales can now be dissected, modelled and tested. New fossils suggest that dinosaurs originated early in the Middle Triassic, during the recovery of life from the devastating Permo-Triassic mass extinction. Improvements in stratigraphic dating and a new suite of morphometric and comparative evolutionary numerical methods now allow a forensic dissection of one of the greatest turnovers in the history of life. Such studies mark a move from the narrative to the analytical in macroevolutionary research, and they allow us to begin to answer the proposal of George Gaylord Simpson, to explore adaptive radiations using numerical methods.
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Abstract
The end-Permian extinction is associated with a mysterious disruption to Earth's carbon cycle. Here we identify causal mechanisms via three observations. First, we show that geochemical signals indicate superexponential growth of the marine inorganic carbon reservoir, coincident with the extinction and consistent with the expansion of a new microbial metabolic pathway. Second, we show that the efficient acetoclastic pathway in Methanosarcina emerged at a time statistically indistinguishable from the extinction. Finally, we show that nickel concentrations in South China sediments increased sharply at the extinction, probably as a consequence of massive Siberian volcanism, enabling a methanogenic expansion by removal of nickel limitation. Collectively, these results are consistent with the instigation of Earth's greatest mass extinction by a specific microbial innovation.
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Scheyer TM, Romano C, Jenks J, Bucher H. Early Triassic marine biotic recovery: the predators' perspective. PLoS One 2014; 9:e88987. [PMID: 24647136 PMCID: PMC3960099 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2013] [Accepted: 01/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Examining the geological past of our planet allows us to study periods of severe climatic and biological crises and recoveries, biotic and abiotic ecosystem fluctuations, and faunal and floral turnovers through time. Furthermore, the recovery dynamics of large predators provide a key for evaluation of the pattern and tempo of ecosystem recovery because predators are interpreted to react most sensitively to environmental turbulences. The end-Permian mass extinction was the most severe crisis experienced by life on Earth, and the common paradigm persists that the biotic recovery from the extinction event was unusually slow and occurred in a step-wise manner, lasting up to eight to nine million years well into the early Middle Triassic (Anisian) in the oceans, and even longer in the terrestrial realm. Here we survey the global distribution and size spectra of Early Triassic and Anisian marine predatory vertebrates (fishes, amphibians and reptiles) to elucidate the height of trophic pyramids in the aftermath of the end-Permian event. The survey of body size was done by compiling maximum standard lengths for the bony fishes and some cartilaginous fishes, and total size (estimates) for the tetrapods. The distribution and size spectra of the latter are difficult to assess because of preservation artifacts and are thus mostly discussed qualitatively. The data nevertheless demonstrate that no significant size increase of predators is observable from the Early Triassic to the Anisian, as would be expected from the prolonged and stepwise trophic recovery model. The data further indicate that marine ecosystems characterized by multiple trophic levels existed from the earliest Early Triassic onwards. However, a major change in the taxonomic composition of predatory guilds occurred less than two million years after the end-Permian extinction event, in which a transition from fish/amphibian to fish/reptile-dominated higher trophic levels within ecosystems became apparent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torsten M. Scheyer
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (TMS); (CR)
| | - Carlo Romano
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (TMS); (CR)
| | - Jim Jenks
- West Jordan, Utah, United States of America
- New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Hugo Bucher
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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