Colloquium paper: dynamics of origination and extinction in the marine fossil record
Abstract
The discipline-wide effort to database the fossil record at the occurrence level has made it possible to estimate marine invertebrate extinction and origination rates with much greater accuracy. The new data show that two biotic mechanisms have hastened recoveries from mass extinctions and confined diversity to a relatively narrow range over the past 500 million years (Myr). First, a drop in diversity of any size correlates with low extinction rates immediately afterward, so much so that extinction would almost come to a halt if diversity dropped by 90%. Second, very high extinction rates are followed by equally high origination rates. The two relationships predict that the rebound from the current mass extinction will take at least 10 Myr, and perhaps 40 Myr if it rivals the Permo-Triassic catastrophe. Regardless, any large event will result in a dramatic ecological and taxonomic restructuring of the biosphere. The data also confirm that extinction and origination rates both declined through the Phanerozoic and that several extinctions in addition to the Permo-Triassic event were particularly severe. However, the trend may be driven by taxonomic biases and the rates vary in accord with a simple log normal distribution, so ther...Continue Reading
References
Citations
Commensal associations and benthic habitats shape macroevolution of the bivalve clade Galeommatoidea
Heritability of extinction rates links diversification patterns in molecular phylogenies and fossils
Related Concepts
Trending Feeds
COVID-19
Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.
Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a rare rheumatic disease that affects children. Symptoms include joint pain, but also fevers and skin rashes. Here is the latest on this disease.
Chromatin Regulation and Circadian Clocks
The circadian clock plays an important role in regulating transcriptional dynamics through changes in chromatin folding and remodelling. Discover the latest research on Chromatin Regulation and Circadian Clocks here.
Central Pontine Myelinolysis
Central Pontine Myelinolysis is a neurologic disorder caused most frequently by rapid correction of hyponatremia and is characterized by demyelination that affects the central portion of the base of the pons. Here is the latest research on this disease.
Myocardial Stunning
Myocardial stunning is a mechanical dysfunction that persists after reperfusion of previously ischemic tissue in the absence of irreversible damage including myocardial necrosis. Here is the latest research.
Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia
Pontocerebellar hypoplasias are a group of neurodegenerative autosomal recessive disorders with prenatal onset, atrophy or hypoplasia of the cerebellum, hypoplasia of the ventral pons, microcephaly, variable neocortical atrophy and severe mental and motor impairments. Here is the latest research on pontocerebellar hypoplasia.
Cell Atlas Along the Gut-Brain Axis
Profiling cells along the gut-brain axis at the single cell level will provide unique information for each cell type, a three-dimensional map of how cell types work together to form tissues, and insights into how changes in the map underlie health and disease of the GI system and its crosstalk with the brain. Disocver the latest research on single cell analysis of the gut-brain axis here.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease that occurs in individuals that suffer repetitive brain trauma. Discover the latest research on traumatic encephalopathy here.