Diversity dynamics of microfossils from the Cretaceous to the Neogene show mixed responses to events

Abstract

Microfossils have a ubiquitous and well-studied fossil record with temporally and spatially fluctuating diversity, but how this arises and how major events affect speciation and extinction is uncertain. We present one of the first applications of PyRate to a micropalaeontological global occurrence dataset, reconstructing diversification rates within a Bayesian framework from the Mesozoic to the Neogene in four microfossil groups: planktic foraminiferans, calcareous nannofossils, radiolarians and diatoms. Calcareous and siliceous groups demonstrate opposed but inconsistent responses in diversification. Radiolarian origination increases from c. 104 Ma, maintaining high rates into the Cenozoic. Calcareous microfossil diversification rates significantly declines across the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary, while rates in siliceous microfossil groups remain stable until the Paleocene-Eocene transition. Diversification rates in the Cenozoic are largely stable in calcareous groups, whereas the Palaeogene is a turbulent time for diatoms. Diversification

Bathymetric evolution of black corals through deep time

“…Invertebrate lineages have historically and routinely invaded the abyss and subsequently gone extinct, either due to minimum viable population sizes in large abyssal habitats [ 64 ] or to repeated anoxic events [ 12 , 25 , 26 , 65 ]. The most recent anoxic event in the abyss occurred during the earliest Palaeocene 66 Ma, immediately following the K-T extinction event [ 17 , 66 ]. This global anoxic event, combined with limited nutrition availability and hard substrate required for feeding and settlement, could have eradicated abyssal black coral lineages present in the Cretaceous.…”

The Extending Ocean Drilling Pursuits (eODP) Project: Synthesizing Scientific Ocean Drilling Data

“…For example, SOD supplied conclusive evidence of plate tectonics via seafloor spreading and demonstrated that both abrupt and gradual changes in climate are driven by variability in Earth's orbit. Meta‐analytical studies from SOD efforts exist for paleontology (e.g., Bown, 2005; Bown et al., 2004; Fenton et al., 2016; Fraass et al., 2015; Jamson, Moon, & Fraass, 2022; Lazarus, 1994; Lowery et al., 2020; Trubovitz et al., 2020), paleotemperature (e.g., Dunkley Jones et al., 2013; Zachos et al., 2001, 2008), and marine sedimentation (e.g., Lyle, 2003; Pälike et al., 2012; Peters et al., 2013; Wade et al., 2020) but they are few due to the decentralized nature of the data. Each study of sedimentation, for example, requires yet another synthesis of data from numerous sources; a slow and difficult process that limits reproducibility and is largely a redundant effort.…”

“…Both the preservation and abundance of all microfossil taxa within an SOD sample are recorded via terms that are fairly standardized across expeditions but vary between fossil groups because of the differing sampling processing and counting methodologies required for each group. Microfossils have a robust species‐level record (Ezard et al., 2011; Fraass et al., 2015; Jamson, Moon, & Fraass, 2022), a true novelty in paleobiology, and thus form a rich data set for addressing many of the questions highlighted in “Grand Challenges in Paleobiology” 2017 EarthRates' Report (see the “Grand Challenges”: https://earthrates.org/news/earthrates-community-news-2/) at unprecedented levels of specificity.…”

The extending Ocean Drilling Pursuits (eODP) Project: Synthesizing Scientific Ocean Drilling Data

“…For example, SOD supplied conclusive evidence of plate tectonics via seafloor spreading and demonstrated that both abrupt and gradual changes in climate are driven by variability in Earth's orbit. Meta-analytical studies from SOD efforts exist for paleontology (e.g., Lazarus, 1994;Bown et al, 2004;Bown, 2005;Fraass et al, 2015;Fenton et al, 2016;Trubovitz et al, 2020;Lowery et al, 2020;Jamson et al, 2022a), paleotemperature (e.g., Zachos et al, 2001;2008;Dunkley Jones et al, 2013), and marine sedimentation (e.g., Lyle, 2003;Pälike et al, 2012;Peters et al, 2013;Wade et al, 2020) but they are few due to the decentralized nature of the data. Each study of sedimentation, for example, requires another synthesis of data from numerous sources; a slow, difficult process that limits reproducibility and is largely a redundant effort.…”

“…Both the preservation and abundance of all microfossil taxa within a SOD sample are recorded via terms that are fairly standardized across expeditions but vary between fossil groups because of the differing sampling processing and counting methodologies required for each group. Microfossils have a robust species-level record (Ezard et al 2011;Fraass et al 2015;Jamson et al, 2022a), a true novelty in paleobiology, and thus form a rich dataset for addressing many of the questions highlighted in 'Grand Challenges in Paleobiology' 2017 EarthRates' Report (see the 'Grand Challenges': earthrates.org/news/earthrates-community-news-2/) at unprecedented levels of specificity.…”