Occurrence and Range-through database of functional diversity of marine ecosystems after the Late Permian mass extinction event

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Hauptverfasser: Foster, William J, Twitchett, Richard J
Format: Dataset Open Access
Sprache:en
Veröffentlicht: PANGAEA 2013
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author Foster, William J
Twitchett, Richard J
author_facet Foster, William J
Twitchett, Richard J
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents The Late Permian mass extinction event about 252 million years ago was the most severe biotic crisis of the past 500 million years and occurred during an episode of global warming. The loss of around two-thirds of marine genera is thought to have had substantial ecological effects, but the overall impacts on the functioning of marine ecosystems and the pattern of marine recovery are uncertain. Here we analyse the fossil occurrences of all known benthic marine invertebrate genera from the Permian and Triassic periods, and assign each to a functional group based on their inferred lifestyle. We show that despite the selective extinction of 62–74% of these genera, all but one functional group persisted through the crisis, indicating that there was no significant loss of functional diversity at the global scale. In addition, only one new mode of life originated in the extinction aftermath. We suggest that Early Triassic marine ecosystems were not as ecologically depauperate as widely assumed. Functional diversity was, however, reduced in particular regions and habitats, such as tropical reefs; at these smaller scales, recovery varied spatially and temporally, probably driven by migration of surviving groups. We find that marine ecosystems did not return to their pre-extinction state, and by the Middle Triassic greater functional evenness is recorded, resulting from the radiation of previously subordinate groups such as motile, epifaunal grazers.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_824825
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2013
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Occurrence and Range-through database of functional diversity of marine ecosystems after the Late Permian mass extinction event
Foster, William J
Twitchett, Richard J
File format; File name; File size; Uniform resource locator/link to file
The Late Permian mass extinction event about 252 million years ago was the most severe biotic crisis of the past 500 million years and occurred during an episode of global warming. The loss of around two-thirds of marine genera is thought to have had substantial ecological effects, but the overall impacts on the functioning of marine ecosystems and the pattern of marine recovery are uncertain. Here we analyse the fossil occurrences of all known benthic marine invertebrate genera from the Permian and Triassic periods, and assign each to a functional group based on their inferred lifestyle. We show that despite the selective extinction of 62–74% of these genera, all but one functional group persisted through the crisis, indicating that there was no significant loss of functional diversity at the global scale. In addition, only one new mode of life originated in the extinction aftermath. We suggest that Early Triassic marine ecosystems were not as ecologically depauperate as widely assumed. Functional diversity was, however, reduced in particular regions and habitats, such as tropical reefs; at these smaller scales, recovery varied spatially and temporally, probably driven by migration of surviving groups. We find that marine ecosystems did not return to their pre-extinction state, and by the Middle Triassic greater functional evenness is recorded, resulting from the radiation of previously subordinate groups such as motile, epifaunal grazers.
title Occurrence and Range-through database of functional diversity of marine ecosystems after the Late Permian mass extinction event
topic File format; File name; File size; Uniform resource locator/link to file
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.824825