A fall in sea surface temperatures around 500 million years ago led to the evolution of new aquatic life that could survive in the more hospitable environments
A period of global cooling around 500 million years ago may have triggered Earth’s largest surge in marine biodiversity.
The so-called Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event marked a dramatic explosion in marine biodiversity between 490 and 430 million years ago, resulting in the emergence of several new order, family and genus of“ is one of the key diversifications of life in Earth history, often referred to as ‘Diversity’s Big Bang’,” saysA few of the proposed ideas for what sparked the event included sea level rises induced by continental drift, an increase in atmospheric oxygen and even meteors.
The team combined a climate model, based on fossil data and our knowledge of land configuration at the time, with an ecological model that mapped biodiversity patterns in theAs the oceans cooled, they became more conducive to life. Existing species also moved from waters around the north and south poles towards the equator.Ontiveros. “Only a few species could withstand the high temperatures.
“The results go a long way to explain why this diversification was so rapid and why new genera or species evolved rapidly across a large region across these unconnected landmasses,” saysat the University of Cambridge. “However, we should be cautious about the results presented as they may influence my sampling bias, as much of the fossil data comes from these high latitudes.”
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