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Ecological dynamics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across three mid-Phanerozoic mass extinctions from northwest China.
Proc Biol Sci. 2021 03 31; 288(1947):20210148.PB

Abstract

The Earth has been beset by many crises during its history, and yet comparing the ecological impacts of these mass extinctions has been difficult. Key questions concern the kinds of species that go extinct and survive, how communities rebuild in the post-extinction recovery phase, and especially how the scaling of events affects these processes. Here, we explore ecological impacts of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in three mass extinctions through the mid-Phanerozoic, a span of 121 million years (295-174 Ma). This critical duration encompasses the largest mass extinction of all time, the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) and is flanked by two smaller crises, the Guadalupian-Lopingian (G-L) and Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) mass extinctions. Palaeocommunity dynamics modelling of 14 terrestrial and freshwater communities through a long sedimentary succession from the lower Permian to the lower Jurassic in northern Xinjiang, northwest China, shows that the P-Tr mass extinction differed from the other two in two ways: (i) ecological recovery from this extinction was prolonged and the three post-extinction communities in the Early Triassic showed low stability and highly variable and unpredictable responses to perturbation primarily following the huge losses of species, guilds and trophic space; and (ii) the G-L and T-J extinctions were each preceded by low-stability communities, but post-extinction recovery was rapid. Our results confirm the uniqueness of the P-Tr mass extinction and shed light on the trophic structure and ecological dynamics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across the three mid-Phanerozoic extinctions, and how complex communities respond to environmental stress and how communities recovered after the crisis. Comparisons with the coeval communities from the Karoo Basin, South Africa show that geographically and compositionally different communities of terrestrial ecosystems were affected in much the same way by the P-Tr extinction.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Huang Y
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China. Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.
Chen ZQ
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
Roopnarine PD
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China. Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.
Benton MJ
School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
Yang W
Geology and Geophysics Program, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA.
Liu J
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.
Zhao L
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Resource Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
Li Z
School of Computer Science, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
Guo Z
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.

MeSH

BiodiversityChinaEcosystemExtinction, BiologicalFossilsFresh WaterSouth Africa

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

33726593

Citation

Huang, Yuangeng, et al. "Ecological Dynamics of Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems Across Three mid-Phanerozoic Mass Extinctions From Northwest China." Proceedings. Biological Sciences, vol. 288, no. 1947, 2021, p. 20210148.
Huang Y, Chen ZQ, Roopnarine PD, et al. Ecological dynamics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across three mid-Phanerozoic mass extinctions from northwest China. Proc Biol Sci. 2021;288(1947):20210148.
Huang, Y., Chen, Z. Q., Roopnarine, P. D., Benton, M. J., Yang, W., Liu, J., Zhao, L., Li, Z., & Guo, Z. (2021). Ecological dynamics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across three mid-Phanerozoic mass extinctions from northwest China. Proceedings. Biological Sciences, 288(1947), 20210148. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0148
Huang Y, et al. Ecological Dynamics of Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems Across Three mid-Phanerozoic Mass Extinctions From Northwest China. Proc Biol Sci. 2021 03 31;288(1947):20210148. PubMed PMID: 33726593.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Ecological dynamics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across three mid-Phanerozoic mass extinctions from northwest China. AU - Huang,Yuangeng, AU - Chen,Zhong-Qiang, AU - Roopnarine,Peter D, AU - Benton,Michael J, AU - Yang,Wan, AU - Liu,Jun, AU - Zhao,Laishi, AU - Li,Zhenhua, AU - Guo,Zhen, Y1 - 2021/03/17/ PY - 2021/3/17/entrez PY - 2021/3/18/pubmed PY - 2021/5/21/medline KW - Northwest China KW - Triassic KW - extinctions KW - palaeo-food web KW - palaeocommunity stability SP - 20210148 EP - 20210148 JF - Proceedings. Biological sciences JO - Proc Biol Sci VL - 288 IS - 1947 N2 - The Earth has been beset by many crises during its history, and yet comparing the ecological impacts of these mass extinctions has been difficult. Key questions concern the kinds of species that go extinct and survive, how communities rebuild in the post-extinction recovery phase, and especially how the scaling of events affects these processes. Here, we explore ecological impacts of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in three mass extinctions through the mid-Phanerozoic, a span of 121 million years (295-174 Ma). This critical duration encompasses the largest mass extinction of all time, the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) and is flanked by two smaller crises, the Guadalupian-Lopingian (G-L) and Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) mass extinctions. Palaeocommunity dynamics modelling of 14 terrestrial and freshwater communities through a long sedimentary succession from the lower Permian to the lower Jurassic in northern Xinjiang, northwest China, shows that the P-Tr mass extinction differed from the other two in two ways: (i) ecological recovery from this extinction was prolonged and the three post-extinction communities in the Early Triassic showed low stability and highly variable and unpredictable responses to perturbation primarily following the huge losses of species, guilds and trophic space; and (ii) the G-L and T-J extinctions were each preceded by low-stability communities, but post-extinction recovery was rapid. Our results confirm the uniqueness of the P-Tr mass extinction and shed light on the trophic structure and ecological dynamics of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems across the three mid-Phanerozoic extinctions, and how complex communities respond to environmental stress and how communities recovered after the crisis. Comparisons with the coeval communities from the Karoo Basin, South Africa show that geographically and compositionally different communities of terrestrial ecosystems were affected in much the same way by the P-Tr extinction. SN - 1471-2954 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/33726593/Ecological_dynamics_of_terrestrial_and_freshwater_ecosystems_across_three_mid_Phanerozoic_mass_extinctions_from_northwest_China_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -