Evolutionary arms races between marine animals overhauled ocean ecosystems on scales similar to the mass extinctions triggered by global disasters, a new study shows.
Evolutionary arms races between marine animals overhauled ocean ecosystems on scales similar to the mass extinctions triggered by global disasters, a new study shows.
Scientists at Umeå University in Sweden and the Florida Museum of Natural History used paleontological databases to build a multilayered computer model of the history of marine life over the last 500 million years. Their analysis of the fossil record closely echoed a seminal 1981 study by paleontologist J. John Sepkoski – with one key difference.
Sepkoski’s ground-breaking statistical work showed abrupt ocean-wide changes in biodiversity about 490 and 250 million years ago, corresponding to two mass extinction events. These events divided marine life into what he called “three great evolutionary faunas,” each dominated by a unique set of animals.
Read more at: Florida Museum of Natural History
A seminal 1981 study organized the a history of ocean life into three hierarchies, with certain animals reigning the seas during each time periods. Two mass extinctions cleared the way for new groups to flourish and dominate. But a new study provides evidence that the rise of marine predators was an equally powerful transition, resulting in a fourth hierarchy of marine life. (Photo Credit: Jeff Gage/Florida Museum of Natural History)
