Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.

The pace of Late Triassic (LT) biodiversity loss is uncertain, yet it could help to decipher causal mechanisms of mass extinction. We investigated relative abundance distributions (RADs) of six LT plant assemblages from the Kap Stewart Group, East Greenland, to determine the pace of collapse of LT p...

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Үндсэн зохиолчид: McElwain, J, Wagner, P, Hesselbo, S
Формат: Journal article
Хэл сонгох:English
Хэвлэсэн: 2009
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author McElwain, J
Wagner, P
Hesselbo, S
author_facet McElwain, J
Wagner, P
Hesselbo, S
author_sort McElwain, J
collection OXFORD
description The pace of Late Triassic (LT) biodiversity loss is uncertain, yet it could help to decipher causal mechanisms of mass extinction. We investigated relative abundance distributions (RADs) of six LT plant assemblages from the Kap Stewart Group, East Greenland, to determine the pace of collapse of LT primary productivity. RADs displayed not simply decreases in the number of taxa, but decreases in the number of common taxa. Likelihood tests rejected a hypothesis of continuously declining diversity. Instead, the RAD shift occurred over the upper two-to-four fossil plant assemblages and most likely over the last three (final 13 meters), coinciding with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and global warming. Thus, although the LT event did not induce mass extinction of plant families, it accompanied major and abrupt change in their ecology and diversity.
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spelling oxford-uuid:b542633c-d48a-41db-8b69-96f58078026f2022-03-27T04:32:08ZFossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:b542633c-d48a-41db-8b69-96f58078026fEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009McElwain, JWagner, PHesselbo, SThe pace of Late Triassic (LT) biodiversity loss is uncertain, yet it could help to decipher causal mechanisms of mass extinction. We investigated relative abundance distributions (RADs) of six LT plant assemblages from the Kap Stewart Group, East Greenland, to determine the pace of collapse of LT primary productivity. RADs displayed not simply decreases in the number of taxa, but decreases in the number of common taxa. Likelihood tests rejected a hypothesis of continuously declining diversity. Instead, the RAD shift occurred over the upper two-to-four fossil plant assemblages and most likely over the last three (final 13 meters), coinciding with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and global warming. Thus, although the LT event did not induce mass extinction of plant families, it accompanied major and abrupt change in their ecology and diversity.
spellingShingle McElwain, J
Wagner, P
Hesselbo, S
Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.
title Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.
title_full Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.
title_fullStr Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.
title_full_unstemmed Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.
title_short Fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of Late Triassic biodiversity in East Greenland.
title_sort fossil plant relative abundances indicate sudden loss of late triassic biodiversity in east greenland
work_keys_str_mv AT mcelwainj fossilplantrelativeabundancesindicatesuddenlossoflatetriassicbiodiversityineastgreenland
AT wagnerp fossilplantrelativeabundancesindicatesuddenlossoflatetriassicbiodiversityineastgreenland
AT hesselbos fossilplantrelativeabundancesindicatesuddenlossoflatetriassicbiodiversityineastgreenland