The largest mass extinction on the planet has eliminated many marine species. But it didn’t rule them all out.
According to research Advances in science, Warm, oxygen-depleted water helped select survivors of Permian extinction in the aftermath of an event about 252 million years ago, allowing them to expand the range of Earth’s oceans. The results reveal how marine animals have recovered from past mass extinctions and how they can recover from present and future mass extinctions.
“Our study provided a simple explanation of the environment rather than an ecological explanation, for the reasons why certain survivors of the endopermian extinction flourished,” said Jonathan Payne, professor of paleontology at Stanford University. press release.
Survive the “great death”
During “large-scale deaths” about 252 million years ago, about 80% of marine species disappeared from the surface of the Earth. During the “big dull” that followed, selected species survived, flourished, spread widely, and the marine life in one corner of the ocean looked amazingly similar to all other horn marine life.
Thanks to the success of these select species, marine populations moved from “rich and diverse communities” to “boring communities” before the extinction of Permians.
Over the years, researchers have proposed several explanations as to why this transformation occurred. Some suggest that certain predators and competitors’ loss of failure have allowed some of the surviving creatures to thrive. They also propose that climate change related to the Permian era is more suitable for certain surviving animals than others, and can spread almost anywhere across the globe.
To determine whether any of these theories retain water, Payne and the team turned to ocean temperature and harnessed geochemical evidence to create an environmental model for the Endopermian era. Explaining taxonomic homogenization in the aftermath of extinction, this model suggests that certain creatures, primarily mollusks, flourished thanks to the onset of warm water temperatures.
read more: Permian extinction: Life on Earth almost disappeared while “death greatly”
Success in the warm sea
Applying evidence from experiments on existing marine animals, the team embedded the model into modern parents of Permian creatures. Featuring mollusks such as clams, oysters, snails and slugs, the model demonstrated how different animals responded to climate change 252 million years ago, based on the ability of modern relatives to survive similar changes in the environment.
It is still recovering from the intense volcanic activity that sparked the times. Earth’s oceans have warmed with the aftermath of Permian extinction and oxygen drainage. In fact, in addition to the effects of water temperature, the team’s model also took into account the effects of water oxygenation and found that ERA oxygen-depleted water is another factor in the global success of mollusks.
read more: Five major extinction events that swept our planet
Past, present and future models
Ultimately, the model allowed the team to study “mass extinction” and “makes them a better sense of why others died while some animal groups were doing that,” according to the press release, they said, “give them a better sense of it.”
However, that insight is not limited to Permian extinction, as the model can reveal how animals are carrying them to the present and future in the face of the looming mass extinction brought about by human activity.
“Our model provides a great way to study how animals respond to extreme changes in the environment,” says Jood Al Aswad, a leading research author, with a PhD in paleontology. He is also a candidate at Stanford University, according to a press release. “As climate change has been artificially spurred, there was a warning that if it continues in the future, taxonomic homogenization of modern marine life will also be seen.”
read more: How paleontologists determine how mass extinctions continue
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Sam Walters is a journalist covering evolution for archaeology, paleontology, ecology and discovery, and has an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
