A framework for the integrated analysis of the magnitude, selectivity, and biotic effects of extinction and origination

Paleobiology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Bush ◽  
Steve C. Wang ◽  
Jonathan L. Payne ◽  
Noel A. Heim
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Marine Biota ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Geologic Time ◽  
Biotic Effects ◽  
Stratigraphic Ranges ◽  
Biotic Change ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Separate Class

AbstractThe taxonomic and ecologic composition of Earth's biota has shifted dramatically through geologic time, with some clades going extinct while others diversified. Here, we derive a metric that quantifies the change in biotic composition due to extinction or origination and show that it equals the product of extinction/origination magnitude and selectivity (variation in magnitude among groups). We also define metrics that describe the extent to which a recovery (1) reinforced or reversed the effects of extinction on biotic composition and (2) changed composition in ways uncorrelated with the extinction. To demonstrate the approach, we analyzed an updated compilation of stratigraphic ranges of marine animal genera. We show that mass extinctions were not more selective than background intervals at the phylum level; rather, they tended to drive greater taxonomic change due to their higher magnitudes. Mass extinctions did not represent a separate class of events with respect to either strength of selectivity or effect. Similar observations apply to origination during recoveries from mass extinctions, and on average, extinction and origination were similarly selective and drove similar amounts of biotic change. Elevated origination during recoveries drove bursts of compositional change that varied considerably in effect. In some cases, origination partially reversed the effects of extinction, returning the biota toward the pre-extinction composition; in others, it reinforced the effects of the extinction, magnifying biotic change. Recoveries were as important as extinction events in shaping the marine biota, and their selectivity deserves systematic study alongside that of extinction.

Mass extinctions alter extinction and origination dynamics with respect to body size

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1960) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro M. Monarrez ◽  
Noel A. Heim ◽  
Jonathan L. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Extinction Selectivity ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Mass Extinction Events ◽  
Marine Biosphere

Whether mass extinctions and their associated recoveries represent an intensification of background extinction and origination dynamics versus a separate macroevolutionary regime remains a central debate in evolutionary biology. The previous focus has been on extinction, but origination dynamics may be equally or more important for long-term evolutionary outcomes. The evolution of animal body size is an ideal process to test for differences in macroevolutionary regimes, as body size is easily determined, comparable across distantly related taxa and scales with organismal traits. Here, we test for shifts in selectivity between background intervals and the ‘Big Five’ mass extinction events using capture–mark–recapture models. Our body-size data cover 10 203 fossil marine animal genera spanning 10 Linnaean classes with occurrences ranging from Early Ordovician to Late Pleistocene (485–1 Ma). Most classes exhibit differences in both origination and extinction selectivity between background intervals and mass extinctions, with the direction of selectivity varying among classes and overall exhibiting stronger selectivity during origination after mass extinction than extinction during the mass extinction. Thus, not only do mass extinction events shift the marine biosphere into a new macroevolutionary regime, the dynamics of recovery from mass extinction also appear to play an underappreciated role in shaping the biosphere in their aftermath.

scholarly journals Stratigraphic signatures of mass extinctions: ecological and sedimentary determinants

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1886) ◽  
pp. 20181191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Nawrot ◽  
Daniele Scarponi ◽  
Michele Azzarone ◽  
Troy A. Dexter ◽  
Kristopher M. Kusnerik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Sequence Stratigraphic ◽  
Recovery Potential ◽  
Mollusc Species ◽  
Stratigraphic Ranges ◽  
Extinction Events

Stratigraphic patterns of last occurrences (LOs) of fossil taxa potentially fingerprint mass extinctions and delineate rates and geometries of those events. Although empirical studies of mass extinctions recognize that random sampling causes LOs to occur earlier than the time of extinction (Signor–Lipps effect), sequence stratigraphic controls on the position of LOs are rarely considered. By tracing stratigraphic ranges of extant mollusc species preserved in the Holocene succession of the Po coastal plain (Italy), we demonstrated that, if mass extinction took place today, complex but entirely false extinction patterns would be recorded regionally due to shifts in local community composition and non-random variation in the abundance of skeletal remains, both controlled by relative sea-level changes. Consequently, rather than following an apparent gradual pattern expected from the Signor–Lipps effect, LOs concentrated within intervals of stratigraphic condensation and strong facies shifts mimicking sudden extinction pulses. Methods assuming uniform recovery potential of fossils falsely supported stepwise extinction patterns among studied species and systematically underestimated their stratigraphic ranges. Such effects of stratigraphic architecture, co-produced by ecological, sedimentary and taphonomic processes, can easily confound interpretations of the timing, duration and selectivity of mass extinction events. Our results highlight the necessity of accounting for palaeoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphic context when inferring extinction dynamics from the fossil record.

scholarly journals Appearance and disappearance rates of Phanerozoic marine animal paleocommunities

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.D. Muscente ◽  
Rowan C. Martindale ◽  
Anirudh Prabhu ◽  
Xiaogang Ma ◽  
Peter Fox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
Taxonomic Changes ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Fossil Data

Ecological observations and paleontological data show that communities of organisms recur in space and time. Various observations suggest that communities largely disappear in extinction events and appear during radiations. This hypothesis, however, has not been tested on a large scale due to a lack of methods for analyzing fossil data, identifying communities, and quantifying their turnover. We demonstrate an approach for quantifying turnover of communities over the Phanerozoic Eon. Using network analysis of fossil occurrence data, we provide the first estimates of appearance and disappearance rates for marine animal paleocommunities in the 100 stages of the Phanerozoic record. Our analysis of 124,605 fossil collections (representing 25,749 living and extinct marine animal genera) shows that paleocommunity disappearance and appearance rates are generally highest in mass extinctions and recovery intervals, respectively, with rates three times greater than background levels. Although taxonomic change is, in general, a fair predictor of ecologic reorganization, the variance is high, and ecologic and taxonomic changes were episodically decoupled at times in the past. Extinction rate, therefore, is an imperfect proxy for ecologic change. The paleocommunity turnover rates suggest that efforts to assess the ecological consequences of the present-day biodiversity crisis should focus on the selectivity of extinctions and changes in the prevalence of biological interactions.

scholarly journals Quantifying ecological impacts of mass extinctions with network analysis of fossil communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (20) ◽  
pp. 5217-5222 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Muscente ◽  
Anirudh Prabhu ◽  
Hao Zhong ◽  
Ahmed Eleish ◽  
Michael B. Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Ecological Impact ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Community Turnover ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Animal Communities

Mass extinctions documented by the fossil record provide critical benchmarks for assessing changes through time in biodiversity and ecology. Efforts to compare biotic crises of the past and present, however, encounter difficulty because taxonomic and ecological changes are decoupled, and although various metrics exist for describing taxonomic turnover, no methods have yet been proposed to quantify the ecological impacts of extinction events. To address this issue, we apply a network-based approach to exploring the evolution of marine animal communities over the Phanerozoic Eon. Network analysis of fossil co-occurrence data enables us to identify nonrandom associations of interrelated paleocommunities. These associations, or evolutionary paleocommunities, dominated total diversity during successive intervals of relative community stasis. Community turnover occurred largely during mass extinctions and radiations, when ecological reorganization resulted in the decline of one association and the rise of another. Altogether, we identify five evolutionary paleocommunities at the generic and familial levels in addition to three ordinal associations that correspond to Sepkoski’s Cambrian, Paleozoic, and Modern evolutionary faunas. In this context, we quantify magnitudes of ecological change by measuring shifts in the representation of evolutionary paleocommunities over geologic time. Our work shows that the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event had the largest effect on ecology, followed in descending order by the Permian–Triassic, Cretaceous–Paleogene, Devonian, and Triassic–Jurassic mass extinctions. Despite its taxonomic severity, the Ordovician extinction did not strongly affect co-occurrences of taxa, affirming its limited ecological impact. Network paleoecology offers promising approaches to exploring ecological consequences of extinctions and radiations.

scholarly journals Do the Available Data Permit Clarifcation of the Possible Dependence of Palaeozoic Brachiopod Generic Diversity Dynamics on Global Sea-Level Changes? A Viewpoint

Geologos ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-221
Author(s):  
Dmitry A. Ruban
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Geologic Time ◽  
The Past ◽  
Geologic Time Scale ◽  
Stratigraphic Ranges ◽  
Global Sea Level ◽  
Diversity Dynamics

Abstract At a glance, progress in palaeontology and eustatic reconstructions in the past decade permits to prove or to disprove the possible dependence of Palaeozoic brachiopod generic diversity dynamics on global sea-level changes. However, the available diversity curve is of much lower resolution than the eustatic curve. This problem can be resolved by decreasing the resolution of the latter. The other restriction linked to the chronostratigraphical incompatibility of the available data allows to focus on the Middle Palaeozoic only. A series of mass extinctions and other biotic crises in the Silurian-Devonian does not allow to interpret correctly the results of direct comparison of the brachiopod generic diversity dynamics with global sea-level changes. With the available data, it is only possible to hypothesize that the eustatic control was not playing a major part in diversity dynamics of Middle Palaeozoic brachiopods. The resolution of the stratigraphic ranges of Palaeozoic brachiopods should be increased signifcantly, and these ranges should be plotted against the most up-to-date geologic time scale. Until this task will be achieved, it is impossible to judge about the existence of any dependence (either full or partial) of the Palaeozoic brachiopod diversity dynamics on global sea-level changes.

Flood Basalts and Mass Extinctions

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Clapham ◽  
Paul R. Renne
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Flood Basalt ◽  
Respiratory Physiology ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Flood Basalts ◽  
Volatile Release ◽  
Ocean Carbon ◽  
Biological Extinction ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Environmental Disruption

Flood basalts were Earth's largest volcanic episodes that, along with related intrusions, were often emplaced rapidly and coincided with environmental disruption: oceanic anoxic events, hyperthermals, and mass extinction events. Volatile emissions, both from magmatic degassing and vaporized from surrounding rock, triggered short-term cooling and longer-term warming, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation. The magnitude of biological extinction varied considerably, from small events affecting only select groups to the largest extinction of the Phanerozoic, with less-active organisms and those with less-developed respiratory physiology faring especially poorly. The disparate environmental and biological outcomes of different flood basalt events may at first order be explained by variations in the rate of volatile release modulated by longer trends in ocean carbon cycle buffering and the composition of marine ecosystems. Assessing volatile release, environmental change, and biological extinction at finer temporal resolution should be a top priority to refine ancient hyperthermals as analogs for anthropogenic climate change. ▪ Flood basalts, the largest volcanic events in Earth history, triggered dramatic environmental changes on land and in the oceans. ▪ Rapid volcanic carbon emissions led to ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation that often caused widespread animal extinctions. ▪ Animal physiology played a key role in survival during flood basalt extinctions, with reef builders such as corals being especially vulnerable. ▪ The rate and duration of volcanic carbon emission controlled the type of environmental disruption and the severity of biological extinction.

Inferring temporal patterns of preservation, origination, and extinction from taxonomic survivorship analysis

Paleobiology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 602-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Foote
Keyword(s):  
Simulated Data ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Survivorship Analysis ◽  
Occurrence Data ◽  
Apparent Variation ◽  
Stratigraphic Ranges ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Preliminary Application ◽  
Preservation Rate

Apparent variation in rates of origination and extinction reflects the true temporal pattern of taxonomic rates as well as the distorting effects of incomplete and variable preservation, effects that are themselves exacerbated by true variation in taxonomic rates. Here I present an approach that can undo these distortions and thus permit estimates of true taxonomic rates, while providing estimates of preservation in the process. Standard survivorship probabilities are modified to incorporate variable taxonomic rates and rates of fossil recovery. Time series of these rates are explored by numerical optimization until the set of rates that best explains the observed data is found. If internal occurrences within stratigraphic ranges are available, or if temporal patterns of fossil recovery can otherwise be assumed, these constraints can be exploited, but they are by no means necessary. In its most general form, the approach requires no data other than first and last appearances. When tested against simulated data, the method is able to recover temporal patterns in rates of origination, extinction, and preservation. With empirical data, it yields estimates of preservation rate that agree with those obtained independently by tabulating internal occurrences within stratigraphic ranges. Moreover, when empirical occurrence data are artificially degraded, the method detects the resulting gaps in sampling and corrects taxonomic rates. Preliminary application to data on Paleozoic marine animals suggests that some features of the apparent record, such as the forward smearing of true origination events and the backward smearing of true extinction events, can be detected and corrected. Other features, such as the end-Ordovician extinction, may be fairly accurate at face value.

Middle Miocene recovery of Caribbean reef corals: New data from the Tamana Formation, Trinidad

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth G. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Records ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Reef Corals ◽  
Rigorous Description ◽  
Caribbean Coral Reef ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Stratigraphic Ranges ◽  
Biotic Change

Caribbean coral reef communities were restructured by episodes of accelerated biotic change during the late Oligocene/early Miocene and the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene. However, rigorous description of the effects of rapid biotic change is problematic because preservation and exposure of coral-bearing deposits is not consistent in all stratigraphic intervals. In the Caribbean, early and middle Miocene exposures are more rare than late Miocene and Pliocene exposures. One exception is the late early to early middle Miocene Tamana Formation of Trinidad, and old and new collections from this unit were studied to determine the timing of recovery after the Oligocene/Miocene transition. A total of 41 species of zooxanthellate corals were recovered from the unit, including 21 new records. Within these assemblages, species first occurrences outnumber species last occurrences by a factor of four (31 first occurrences and eight last occurrences). The extension of the stratigraphic ranges of species previously first recorded in Pliocene sediments has reduced an apparent Pliocene pulse of origination, indicating that the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition was largely a result of accelerated extinction against a background of near-constant origination. The fact that few species last occur in the Tamana fauna indicates that the Oligocene/Miocene transition was complete by the end of the early Miocene.

On the importance of global diversity trends and the viability of existing paleontological data

Paleobiology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold I. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Paleontological Data ◽  
Global Diversity ◽  
The World ◽  
Added Benefit ◽  
Biotic Effects ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Is Value

Regardless of the macroevolutionary issues at stake, most students of biodiversity would agree that there is value in calibrating global biodiversity trends through critical intervals. To cite one obvious example, given the overwhelming interest in mass extinctions, we would certainly like to know the extent to which diversity declined during these events. Just as significantly, if we are to argue that any mass extinction was truly a global phenomenon, we must demonstrate definitively that its biotic effects reached around the world. Clearly, “standard” global compendia (e.g., Sepkoski 1992, 2002) are insufficient for the latter objective, because they contain no geographic or environmental information. At the least, a database that compares biodiversity transitions among different regions or paleoenvironments is required. Such analyses have the added benefit of providing opportunities to evaluate geographic and environmental selectivity in extinctions, an important facet of any attempt to understand what caused them (e.g., Raup and Jablonski 1993; Jablonski and Raup 1995).

Geographic variation in turnover and recovery from the Late Ordovician mass extinction

Paleobiology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Z. Krug ◽  
Mark E. Patzkowsky
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Late Ordovician ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Global Extinction ◽  
Rate Of Recovery ◽  
Extinction Events

AbstractUnderstanding what drives global diversity requires knowledge of the processes that control diversity and turnover at a variety of geographic and temporal scales. This is of particular importance in the study of mass extinctions, which have disproportionate effects on the global ecosystem and have been shown to vary geographically in extinction magnitude and rate of recovery.Here, we analyze regional diversity and turnover patterns for the paleocontinents of Laurentia, Baltica, and Avalonia spanning the Late Ordovician mass extinction and Early Silurian recovery. Using a database of genus occurrences for inarticulate and articulate brachiopods, bivalves, anthozoans, and trilobites, we show that sampling-standardized diversity trends differ for the three regions. Diversity rebounded to pre-extinction levels within 5 Myr in the paleocontinent of Laurentia, compared with 15 Myr or longer for Baltica and Avalonia. This increased rate of recovery in Laurentia was due to both lower Late Ordovician extinction rates and higher Early Silurian origination rates relative to the other continents. Using brachiopod data, we dissected the Rhuddanian recovery into genus origination and invasion. This analysis revealed that standing diversity in the Rhuddanian consisted of a higher proportion of invading taxa in Laurentia than in either Baltica or Avalonia. Removing invading genera from diversity counts caused Rhuddanian diversity to fall in Laurentia. However, Laurentian diversity still rebounded to pre-extinction levels within 10 Myr of the extinction event, indicating that genus origination rates were also higher in Laurentia than in either Baltica or Avalonia. Though brachiopod diversity in Laurentia was lower than in the higher-latitude continents prior to the extinction, increased immigration and genus origination rates made it the most diverse continent following the extinction. Higher rates of origination in Laurentia may be explained by its large size, paleogeographic location, and vast epicontinental seas. It is possible that the tropical position of Laurentia buffered it somewhat from the intense climatic fluctuations associated with the extinction event, reducing extinction intensities and allowing for a more rapid rebound in this region. Hypotheses explaining the increased levels of invasion into Laurentia remain largely untested and require further scrutiny. Nevertheless, the Late Ordovician mass extinction joins the Late Permian and end-Cretaceous as global extinction events displaying an underlying spatial complexity.

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