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The Devonian mass extinction caused tabulate corals to lose photosymbiotic species, impacting reef building. This shift from symbiotic to asymbiotic corals had long-lasting effects on Palaeozoic marine ecosystems.

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Area of Science:

  • Paleontology
  • Marine Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Biogenic reefs are crucial for marine biodiversity and evolution.
  • Devonian reefs, the largest in Earth's history, collapsed during the Late Devonian Mass Extinction.
  • The functional diversity changes in Palaeozoic reefs post-extinction are understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate functional diversity changes in tabulate coral assemblages.
  • To analyze a 35-million-year period from the Middle Devonian to the Carboniferous.
  • To identify causes and ecological consequences of the extinction for tabulate corals.

Main Methods:

  • Examined five key morphological traits of tabulate corals.
  • Assessed changes in taxonomic and functional diversity across the extinction event.
  • Analyzed shifts in species traits, such as corallite size and colony integration.

Main Results:

  • Taxonomic richness peaked in the Givetian, coinciding with peak reef building.
  • Functional diversity was moderate pre-extinction due to similar species traits.
  • The extinction minimally impacted functional richness but caused non-random trait shifts.

Conclusions:

  • The Devonian reef collapse correlated with the loss of photosymbiotic tabulate corals.
  • A shift towards asymbiotic taxa occurred, indicated by larger corallites and lower colony integration.
  • The extinction of photosymbiotic traits had profound, lasting impacts on reef development and shallow marine ecosystems.