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Dick DG, Darroch S, Novack-Gottshall P, Laflamme M. Does functional redundancy determine the ecological severity of a mass extinction event? Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220440. [PMID: 35892219 PMCID: PMC9326297 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Many authors have noted the apparent 'decoupling' of the taxonomic and ecological severity of mass extinction events, with no widely accepted mechanistic explanation for this pattern having been offered. Here, we test between two key factors that potentially influence ecological severity: biosphere entropy (a measure of functional redundancy), and the degree of functional selectivity (in terms of deviation from a pattern of random extinction with respect to functional entities). While theoretical simulations suggest that the Shannon entropy of a given community prior to an extinction event determines the expected outcome following a perturbation of a given magnitude, actual variation in Shannon entropy between major extinction intervals is insufficient to explain the observed variation in ecological severity. Within this information-theoretic framework, we show that it is the degree of functional selectivity that is expected to primarily determine the ecological impact of a given perturbation when levels of functional redundancy are not substantially different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G. Dick
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5 L 1C6
| | - Simon Darroch
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 5726 Stevenson Center, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Philip Novack-Gottshall
- Department of Biological Sciences, Benedictine University, 5700 College Road, Lisle, IL 60532, USA
| | - Marc Laflamme
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5 L 1C6
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2
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Li G, Liao W, Li S, Wang Y, Lai Z. Different triggers for the two pulses of mass extinction across the Permian and Triassic boundary. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6686. [PMID: 33758284 PMCID: PMC7988102 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86111-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Widespread ocean anoxia has been proposed to cause biotic mass extinction across the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) boundary. However, its temporal dynamics during this crisis period are unclear. The Liangfengya section in the South China Block contains continuous marine sedimentary and fossil records. Two pulses of biotic extinction and two mass extinction horizons (MEH 1 & 2) near the P-Tr boundary were identified and defined based on lithology and fossils from the section. The data showed that the two pulses of extinction have different environmental triggers. The first pulse occurred during the latest Permian, characterized by disappearance of algae, large foraminifers, and fusulinids. Approaching the MEH 1, multiple layers of volcanic clay and yellowish micritic limestone occurred, suggesting intense volcanic eruptions and terrigenous influx. The second pulse occurred in the earliest Triassic, characterized by opportunist-dominated communities of low diversity and high abundance, and resulted in a structural marine ecosystem change. The oxygen deficiency inferred by pyrite framboid data is associated with biotic declines above the MEH 2, suggesting that the anoxia plays an important role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoshan Li
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China.,School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Wei Liao
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China.,Anthropology Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, 530028, China
| | - Sheng Li
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China.,No.3 Institute of Geological & Mineral Resources Survey of Henan Geological Bureau, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Yongbiao Wang
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China.
| | - Zhongping Lai
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China.
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Erickson TM, Kirkland CL, Timms NE, Cavosie AJ, Davison TM. Precise radiometric age establishes Yarrabubba, Western Australia, as Earth's oldest recognised meteorite impact structure. Nat Commun 2020; 11:300. [PMID: 31964860 PMCID: PMC6974607 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13985-7] [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: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The ~70 km-diameter Yarrabubba impact structure in Western Australia is regarded as among Earth’s oldest, but has hitherto lacked precise age constraints. Here we present U–Pb ages for impact-driven shock-recrystallised accessory minerals. Shock-recrystallised monazite yields a precise impact age of 2229 ± 5 Ma, coeval with shock-reset zircon. This result establishes Yarrabubba as the oldest recognised meteorite impact structure on Earth, extending the terrestrial cratering record back >200 million years. The age of Yarrabubba coincides, within uncertainty, with temporal constraint for the youngest Palaeoproterozoic glacial deposits, the Rietfontein diamictite in South Africa. Numerical impact simulations indicate that a 70 km-diameter crater into a continental glacier could release between 8.7 × 1013 to 5.0 × 1015 kg of H2O vapour instantaneously into the atmosphere. These results provide new estimates of impact-produced H2O vapour abundances for models investigating termination of the Paleoproterozoic glaciations, and highlight the possible role of impact cratering in modifying Earth’s climate. The ~70 km-diameter Yarrabubba impact structure in Western Australia has previously been regarded as among Earth’s oldest meteorite craters, but has hitherto lacked absolute age constraints. Here, the authors determine a precise impact age of 2229 ± 5 Ma, which extends the terrestrial cratering record back in time by > 200 million years and establishes Yarrabubba as the oldest recognised meteorite impact structure on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timmons M Erickson
- Jacobs-JETS, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX, 77058, USA. .,The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR), Space Science and Technology Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box 1984, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia. .,Center for Lunar Science and Exploration, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX, 77058, USA.
| | - Christopher L Kirkland
- The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR), Centre for Exploration Targeting-Curtin Node, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box 1984, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - Nicholas E Timms
- The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR), Space Science and Technology Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box 1984, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - Aaron J Cavosie
- The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR), Space Science and Technology Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box 1984, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - Thomas M Davison
- Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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Meyer KW, Petersen SV, Lohmann KC, Blum JD, Washburn SJ, Johnson MW, Gleason JD, Kurz AY, Winkelstern IZ. Biogenic carbonate mercury and marine temperature records reveal global influence of Late Cretaceous Deccan Traps. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5356. [PMID: 31844055 PMCID: PMC6915775 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13366-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The climate and environmental significance of the Deccan Traps large igneous province of west-central India has been the subject of debate in paleontological communities. Nearly one million years of semi-continuous Deccan eruptive activity spanned the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, which is renowned for the extinction of most dinosaur groups. Whereas the Chicxulub impactor is acknowledged as the principal cause of these extinctions, the Deccan Traps eruptions are believed to have contributed to extinction patterns and/or enhanced ecological pressures on biota during this interval of geologic time. We present the first coupled records of biogenic carbonate clumped isotope paleothermometry and mercury concentrations as measured from a broad geographic distribution of marine mollusk fossils. These fossils preserve evidence of simultaneous increases in coastal marine temperatures and mercury concentrations at a global scale, which appear attributable to volcanic CO2 and mercury emissions. These early findings warrant further investigation with additional records of combined Late Cretaceous temperatures and mercury concentrations of biogenic carbonate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle W Meyer
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Sierra V Petersen
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Kyger C Lohmann
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Joel D Blum
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Spencer J Washburn
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Marcus W Johnson
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - James D Gleason
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Aaron Y Kurz
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Ian Z Winkelstern
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Geology Department, Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401, USA
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