Causes and consequences of end-Ediacaran extinction: An update

Area of Science:

• Paleontology
• Geochemistry
• Geochronology

Background:

• The existence of late Ediacaran extinction events is debated, with increased focus on drivers of global change during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition.
• Understanding these events is crucial for comprehending the emergence of the Phanerozoic biosphere.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the history of research on late Ediacaran extinctions, focusing on the last five years of paleontological, geochemical, and geochronological findings.
• To assess the current state of knowledge, identify unanswered questions, and propose new avenues for research into environmental and biotic change.
• To propose a revised, speculative model for the drivers of late Ediacaran extinction pulses.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of recent paleontological, geochemical, and geochronological studies.
• Analysis of historical perspectives and current scientific consensus on Ediacaran extinctions.
• Development of a new conceptual model for extinction drivers.

Main Results:

• Identified key challenges for future research, including accurately calculating extinction intensities considering sampling biases and taxonomic distributions.
• Highlighted the need for rigorous testing to determine if Ediacaran bioevents qualify as mass extinctions comparable to Phanerozoic events.
• Proposed a revised model for late Ediacaran extinction pulses, offering testable hypotheses for future investigation.

Conclusions:

• Accurate quantification of extinction intensities remains a challenge, hindering direct comparison with major Phanerozoic mass extinctions.
• A revised model for late Ediacaran extinction drivers has been proposed, providing a framework for future research.
• Further investigation is needed to fully characterize the drivers of environmental and biotic change at the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition.