The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous?
Owing to their great diversity and abundance, ammonites and belemnites represented key elements in Mesozoic food webs. Because of their extreme ontogenetic size increase by up to three orders of magnitude, their position in the food webs likely changed during ontogeny. Here, we reconstruct the numbe...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2018-01-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/4219.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797418297523699712 |
|---|---|
| author | Amane Tajika Alexander Nützel Christian Klug |
| author_facet | Amane Tajika Alexander Nützel Christian Klug |
| author_sort | Amane Tajika |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Owing to their great diversity and abundance, ammonites and belemnites represented key elements in Mesozoic food webs. Because of their extreme ontogenetic size increase by up to three orders of magnitude, their position in the food webs likely changed during ontogeny. Here, we reconstruct the number of eggs laid by large adult females of these cephalopods and discuss developmental shifts in their ecologic roles. Based on similarities in conch morphology, size, habitat and abundance, we suggest that similar niches occupied in the Cretaceous by juvenile ammonites and belemnites were vacated during the extinction and later partially filled by holoplanktonic gastropods. As primary consumers, these extinct cephalopod groups were important constituents of the plankton and a principal food source for planktivorous organisms. As victims or, respectively, profiteers of this case of ecological replacement, filter feeding chondrichthyans and cetaceans likely filled the niches formerly occupied by large pachycormid fishes during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:30:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b6deaaee7d84b4086b7242e3a32bb04 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:30:42Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b6deaaee7d84b4086b7242e3a32bb042023-12-03T11:04:59ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-01-016e421910.7717/peerj.4219The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous?Amane Tajika0Alexander Nützel1Christian Klug2Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, SwitzerlandSNSB-Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology & Geobiology, GeoBio-Center LMU, München, GermanyPaläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zürich, SwitzerlandOwing to their great diversity and abundance, ammonites and belemnites represented key elements in Mesozoic food webs. Because of their extreme ontogenetic size increase by up to three orders of magnitude, their position in the food webs likely changed during ontogeny. Here, we reconstruct the number of eggs laid by large adult females of these cephalopods and discuss developmental shifts in their ecologic roles. Based on similarities in conch morphology, size, habitat and abundance, we suggest that similar niches occupied in the Cretaceous by juvenile ammonites and belemnites were vacated during the extinction and later partially filled by holoplanktonic gastropods. As primary consumers, these extinct cephalopod groups were important constituents of the plankton and a principal food source for planktivorous organisms. As victims or, respectively, profiteers of this case of ecological replacement, filter feeding chondrichthyans and cetaceans likely filled the niches formerly occupied by large pachycormid fishes during the Jurassic and Cretaceous.https://peerj.com/articles/4219.pdfBelemnitidaAmmonoideaCretaceousFecundityPalaeogeneFilter feeders |
| spellingShingle | Amane Tajika Alexander Nützel Christian Klug The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous? PeerJ Belemnitida Ammonoidea Cretaceous Fecundity Palaeogene Filter feeders |
| title | The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous? |
| title_full | The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous? |
| title_fullStr | The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous? |
| title_short | The old and the new plankton: ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the Cretaceous? |
| title_sort | old and the new plankton ecological replacement of associations of mollusc plankton and giant filter feeders after the cretaceous |
| topic | Belemnitida Ammonoidea Cretaceous Fecundity Palaeogene Filter feeders |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/4219.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amanetajika theoldandthenewplanktonecologicalreplacementofassociationsofmolluscplanktonandgiantfilterfeedersafterthecretaceous AT alexandernutzel theoldandthenewplanktonecologicalreplacementofassociationsofmolluscplanktonandgiantfilterfeedersafterthecretaceous AT christianklug theoldandthenewplanktonecologicalreplacementofassociationsofmolluscplanktonandgiantfilterfeedersafterthecretaceous AT amanetajika oldandthenewplanktonecologicalreplacementofassociationsofmolluscplanktonandgiantfilterfeedersafterthecretaceous AT alexandernutzel oldandthenewplanktonecologicalreplacementofassociationsofmolluscplanktonandgiantfilterfeedersafterthecretaceous AT christianklug oldandthenewplanktonecologicalreplacementofassociationsofmolluscplanktonandgiantfilterfeedersafterthecretaceous |