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Survival without recovery after mass extinctions.
1Department of Geophysical Sciences, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. djablons@midway.uchicago.edu
Summary
Mass extinctions cause long-term "Dead Clade Walking" (DCW) effects, where survivors show prolonged attrition. This study confirms DCW patterns across major extinction events, impacting marine genera and orders.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Marine Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Mass extinctions cause significant biodiversity loss.
- Many surviving clades do not diversify post-extinction, a phenomenon termed "Dead Clade Walking" (DCW).
- The long-term impacts of mass extinctions beyond immediate losses are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the prevalence of "Dead Clade Walking" (DCW) patterns following major Phanerozoic mass extinctions.
- To quantify the post-extinction attrition rates of surviving marine genera and orders.
- To investigate spatial patterns and potential drivers of DCW phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of marine genera and orders across four of the Big Five Phanerozoic mass extinctions.
- Comparison of attrition rates in the geologic stages immediately following extinctions versus pre-extinction stages.
- Examination of regional molluscan time-series and order-level losses to assess spatial and stochastic factors.
Main Results:
- Marine genera experienced 10-20% attrition in the stage following four major mass extinctions, significantly higher than pre-extinction rates.
- Post-Paleozoic mass extinctions led to significant order-level losses in marine invertebrates.
- DCW patterns were not evenly distributed spatially, and post-extinction fates were not solely explained by bottleneck size or stochastic processes.
Conclusions:
- Mass extinctions have lasting effects beyond immediate biodiversity loss, characterized by "Dead Clade Walking" (DCW).
- DCW impacts marine genera and orders, with attrition rates significantly elevated post-extinction.
- Recovery dynamics are complex, influenced by spatial patterns and potentially ongoing environmental changes, not just biotic interactions or stochasticity.