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New research suggests that an earlier period of global warming 56 million years ago did not have much impact on shallow marine life.
Syracuse University researchers have recently been the first to examine the effects of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) – a 200,000-year period of global climate change – on marine invertebrates and found that animals seamen could withstand rising temperatures.
"The response of ecosystems [to the PETM] has been well documented for marine plankton, terrestrial plants and terrestrial vertebrates, but so far almost nothing has been published on the marine shelf faunas, "said Linda Ivany, professor of science of Earth at the College of Arts and Sciences.
"Indeed, the stratigraphic record, which shows where marine invertebrates are preserved on the continental margins, is full of space because of erosion," she added. "The chances of preserving a short-lived event, such as PETM, are low."
After examining ancient bivalves, gastropods and scaphopods in the well-preserved shell layers of the
U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain, the researchers found that the long-term effects of PETM were relatively minor on biodiversity loss, taxonomic turnover, and ecological restructuring.
"Any potential breeding pressure caused by global warming must have been low, taxon-specific, short-lived, and ultimately of no consequence on the overall evolutionary history of molluscs," said Ivany.
The study shows that the majority of animals from the Paleocene-Eocene border have not changed.
The researchers found that a large number of invertebrates indulged in microbial symbiosis – interactions that allowed them to take advantage of chemicals in sediments released by the decomposition of organic matter.
"These features are what can be expected from the typical low oxygen conditions of a super-greenhouse world," said Ivany.
Molluscs likely to adapt to hot running water at this time, associated with the slow release of carbon dioxide over the time scale of ocean mixing, have potentially minimized the impact of global warming on Marine animals.
The PETM period is one of the best analogs of modern climate change. The records show that during this period, a ground source injected thousands of billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere to raise the marine temperature by 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This has resulted in severe extinctions in the deep sea and an overall ecological reorganization of the land.
"Many things happen when you put large amounts of carbon in the atmosphere: the Earth heats up and some of the carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean, increasing the level of acidity near the surface, "said Ivany. "The hotter the water, the less oxygen it contains. All of these changes have consequences for marine life. We see these same things today, with their increasing effects on ecosystems. "
The study was published in Scientists progress.
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