Ecological disruption precedes mass extinction

Ecological disruption precedes mass extinction.

Mass extinctions are dramatic features of the fossil record in which extinction risk is substantially elevated above background levels. Although extinction risk varies markedly over geologic time, as well as geographically, it was particularly elevated and global in extent during the so-called Big Five events: the Late Ordovician, Late Devonian, end-Permian, end-Triassic, and end-Cretaceous (1)...

Ecological selectivity of the emerging mass extinction in the oceans.

To better predict the ecological and evolutionary effects of the emerging biodiversity crisis in the modern oceans, we compared the association between extinction threat and ecological traits in modern marine animals to associations observed during past extinction events using a database of 2497 marine vertebrate and mollusc genera. We find that extinction threat in the modern oceans is strongl...

Ecological Consequences of Extinction Ecological Consequences of Extinction

Commentary Ecological mechanisms of extinction

E theory offers predictions, sometimes conflicting, about the ecological characteristics of species that correlate with their risk of extinction. It is generally agreed that risk should be higher for species with small populations, small geographic ranges, and poor dispersal ability than for their ecological counterparts (1–3). How suites of life history characteristics affect risk of extinctio...

Severest crisis overlooked—Worst disruption of terrestrial environments postdates the Permian–Triassic mass extinction

Generally Early Triassic floras are believed to be depauperate, suffering from protracted recovery following the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Here we present palynological data of an expanded East Greenland section documenting recovered floras in the basal Triassic (Griesbachian) and a subsequent fundamental floral turnover, postdating the Permian-Triassic boundary extinction by about 500...