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Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

Types of Selection

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Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

The Fossil Record

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The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...

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Updated: May 22, 2025

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Selectivity of mass extinctions: Patterns, processes, and future directions.

Jonathan L Payne¹, Jood A Al Aswad¹, Curtis Deutsch²

¹Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Cambridge Prisms. Extinction

|March 13, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Mass extinction events are driven by changing environmental conditions, not just intensified background extinction. Physiological traits and environmental changes explain extinction patterns, but ecological dependencies remain a challenge.

Keywords:

Physiology biodiversity climate ecology extinction

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Published on: October 31, 2019

Area of Science:

Paleontology
Earth Science
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Mass extinctions are critical evolutionary events.
Understanding extinction selectivity patterns is key to identifying drivers.
Distinguishing mass extinction drivers from background extinction is a central question.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether mass extinctions intensify background extinction or introduce new drivers.
To quantify extinction selectivity patterns during mass extinction events.
To link environmental changes with extinction patterns using physiological and Earth system models.

Main Methods:

Analysis of fossil occurrence databases to quantify extinction selectivity.
Physiological experiments on extant taxa to assess tolerance to environmental change.
Earth system modeling integrating geochemical proxies, environmental change, and habitat loss predictions.

Main Results:

Mass extinction selectivity differs from background patterns.
Geographic range is less important during mass extinctions; physiological traits (respiratory, circulatory) show greater selectivity.
Environmental change, physiological traits, and habitat loss interact to explain extinction selectivity.

Conclusions:

Mass extinctions involve distinct driving mechanisms and selectivity patterns.
Physiology-based models show promise in explaining extinction selectivity.
Quantifying primary vs. secondary extinctions and refining models are crucial for predicting and mitigating current biodiversity loss.