Scientists finally solved the mystery of Earth's greatest mass extinction
A Stanford-led study indicates that the Permian-Triassic mass extinction was driven by metabolic limitations, where species unable to cope with warming, oxygen-poor waters perished. This explains why modern oceans are dominated by mollusks rather than the brachiopods that thrived for millions of years prior.
Why it matters
The findings provide a historical warning about how current ocean warming trends may disproportionately impact marine biodiversity based on metabolic vulnerability.
A new Stanford led study has provided the strongest evidence yet for why some marine animals survived Earth's largest mass extinction while many others disappeared forever. The findings not only explain how modern ocean ecosystems came to be, but also offer a cautionary glimpse of how today's warming oceans could affect marine life.
Roughly 252 million years ago, the Permian-Triassic extinction event, often called the "Great Dying," wiped out about 96% of marine species and 70% of land animals. Yet the devastation was not evenly distributed across the tree of life.
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