Permian Triassic Mass Extinction - PTME

Question 1

What is taxa?

Answer 1

Taxonomic group of any rank (species < genus < family < order < class)

Question 2

What is extinction?

Answer 2

The act or process of dying-out of taxa or evolutionary lineages so they no longer exist

Question 3

What is an extirpation?

Answer 3

Regional loss of taxa

Question 4

What is Lazarus/ rediscovered taxa?

Answer 4

When extinction actually extirpation as taxa reappear post extinction

Question 5

What are background extinction rates? (definition)

Answer 5

average number of extinctions over a time period

Question 6

What are background extinction rates exclusively based on?

Answer 6

fossil record

Question 7

What are the typical background extinction rates for 1 million years?

Answer 7

2-5 marine families and 1-2 terrestrial plant genera

Question 8

What is a mass extinction?

Answer 8

significant and synchronous global loss of diversity

Question 9

What taxonomic levels will be affected by mass extinctions?

Answer 9

Affects multiple groups of organisms, at different taxonomic ranks (species, genus, family, class)

Question 10

How many mass extinction events have occurred in the last 500 Mya?

Answer 10

5?
actually 6 as late Permian split into 2 middle and late Permian

Question 11

What is the largest mass extinction event?

Answer 11

the late Permian event

Question 12

What is the Gap filler rate?

Answer 12

statistical measure of the number of genera (pleural of genus) present before time bin but absent after

Question 13

What are the 3** main temporal patterns of extinction?

Answer 13

Progressive
Catastrophic
Stepwise

Question 14

What is progressive extinction?

Answer 14

patterns relate to relatively long term, moderate intensity environmental change
Gradual decrease in diversity till extinction horizon

Question 15

What is catastrophic extinction patterns?

Answer 15

single, short term, high intensity environmental change exceeding the environmental tolerances of multiple species

Question 16

What is an example of a catastrophic extinction event?

Answer 16

asteroid impact

Question 17

What is stepwise extinction?

Answer 17

extinction pattern suggests biotic responses to short bursts of environmental change

Question 18

What are examples of what can cause stepwise extinction?

Answer 18

repeated, small tectonic activity affecting physical processes, local volcanism

Question 19

What are the 4 temporal patterns of extinction?

Answer 19

Progressive catastrophic
Diversifying catastrophic
Variable rate progressive
Progressive stepwise (Christmas tree shape)

Question 20

What does the lack of mutual exclusivity with the temporal patterns of extinction suggest?

Answer 20

the combination of end members suggests operation of several casual mechanisms

Question 21

When did the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction ocur?

Answer 21

~251 million years ago

Question 22

What mega-volcanism occurred around PTME?

Answer 22

Siberia traps

Question 23

What is terrestrial provincialism?

Answer 23

wider mixing/ distribution of flora and fauna

Question 24

What was extinction in the sea like for families? (PTME)

Answer 24

> 60%

Question 25

What was the extinction in the seas like for genera? (PTME)

Answer 25

60-80% loss

Question 26

What ocean communities were hardest hit by the PTME?

Answer 26

Reef building and shallow water communities

Question 27

What was the process of the extinction of the oceans for PTME like?

Answer 27

came in 2 pulses Pulse one dramatic/ catastrophic Pulse 2 more stepped

Question 28

How can we show the extinction in the sea for the PTME was selective?

Answer 28

Motile less affected the less motile (marine animals) Buffered less affected then unbuffered (marine animals) Small less affected then large (foraminifera brachiopods) Smooth less affected then large (ammonoids) High organic less affected then low (brachiopods) High latitude less affected then low latitude (marine animals)

Question 29

Why were buffered marine animals less affected by PTME then unbuffered?

Answer 29

as in ecology buffered species can use an alternate food source

Question 30

What did vertebrates do in the devonian?

Answer 30

Invertebrates invade land

Question 31

What did vertebrates do in the carboniferous?

Answer 31

Amphibians and amniotes diversify End- regional tropical rainforests collapse

Question 32

What happened to vertebrates in the Permian?

Answer 32

Reptiles flourish

Question 33

What occurred between the Permian and Triassic?

Answer 33

PTME- Permian-Triassic mass extinction

Question 34

What happened with vertebrates in the Triassic?

Answer 34

Beginning of modern type ecosystems

Question 35

What event occurred at the end of the Triassic?

Answer 35

End-Triassic mass extinction

Question 36

What happened with vertebrates in the Jurassic?

Answer 36

Dinosaurs dominate

Question 37

What was the PTME the only mass extinction to affect?

Answer 37

insects- resetting insect evolution

Question 38

What is the smoking gun for if temperature play a role in mass extinctions?

Answer 38

Coral and Radiolaria due to very small tolerance range

Question 39

What was the likely kill mechanism for the latest Permian extinction?

Answer 39

Due to Coral, Radiolarian and foramifera likely high temp kill

Question 40

What was the likely kill mechanism of the early Triassic extinction?

Answer 40

Ostracod extinction so not temp instead ANOXIA kill

Question 41

What occurred at the PTME interval that might hint at ozone layer playing a role?

Answer 41

High level pollen malformation

Question 42

What have experiments shown UVB does to pollen?

Answer 42

malformation & plant sterility (i.e. prevents reproduction)

Question 43

What volcanic event is synchronous with the PTME?

Answer 43

Siberian traps volcanism

Question 44

How much intrusive and extrusive rock was produced form the Siberian traps?

Answer 44

~11x106km*3 intrusive 3x106km*3 extrusive

Question 45

What is the only phenomenon which consistently correlates with mass extinction?

Answer 45

LIPs- large igneous provinces (not all LIPS though i.e., OJP)

Question 46

How can mercury be evidence for volcanisms part on mass extinctions?

Answer 46

Hg (mercury) originate from volcanism Released by weathering igneous rock Hg incorporated in sediment and primary producer Hg concentration peak in Permian-Triassic

Question 47

When did the Laki fissure eruption occur?

Answer 47

1783-84

Question 48

How much basaltic lava was produced by laki 1783?

Answer 48

18-20km*3

Question 49

How many megaton of hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid were produced at laki 1783

Answer 49

Fluoric= 15 Chloric= 7

Question 50

How many megatons of sulphur dioxide was produced by laki 1783

Answer 50

122

Question 51

What was the ejection height of Laki 1783?

Answer 51

13km

Question 52

What was the affected area of the aerosol rich fog produced by Laki 1783?

Answer 52

N. Hemisphere for 5 month

Question 53

What did emissions from Laki do to plants and soils in N. Europe?

Answer 53

Stunted plant growth and acidified soils

Question 54

What did toxins (like fluorine emissions) from Laki do to food chains?

Answer 54

concentrated up food chain and led to mass mortality of livestock and bone disease (fluorosis) in humans

Question 55

What historical political event is linked to the Laki eruption 1783?

Answer 55

the famine linked to the French revolution

Question 56

What are the short term effect of volcanic gases up to 10 years (weather based)?

Answer 56

Ozone depletion Acid rain Cooling Regional warming

Question 57

What are the long term effects on climate of volcanic gas emissions?

Answer 57

Global warming

Question 58

Whose hypothesis is based around thermogenic gases?

Answer 58

Svensens's

Question 59

What can be another reason why carbon might be released associated to volcanism?

Answer 59

Sills and dikes can cooking organic rich sediments like coal (light carbon) and limestone (heavy carbon)

Question 60

How much did land extinction predate ocean extinction for the PTME?

Answer 60

10-100 years

Question 61

What are the general factors that led terrestrial ecosystem destruction and extinction?

Answer 61

Heating and drying of climate, gaseous pollution & UVB from Siberian traps volcanism

Question 62

What fuelled wildfires during the PTME?

Answer 62

Land extinction caused loss of plants/ drying of plant matter so burn more readily More weathering of soil (no plant protect or root stability), leading to temp rise and more wildfire (started by lightning strikes)

Question 63

How many lightning strikes are there on earth surface per second?

Answer 63

100

Question 64

What happens to marine settings due to increased weathering?

Answer 64

More organic matter ends up in ocean Nutrient flux Eutrophication Algal bloom Algae respire Oxygen used up (anoxic environment)

Question 65

Was the start of the Siberian traps extrusive or intrusive and how de we know?

Answer 65

Extrusive- as damage to terrestrial ecosystem by 1 large volcanic pulse which pushed organisms over the edge of threshold

Question 66

What was the problem in the early Triassic with co2 emissions?

Answer 66

There was no vegetation to absorb the CO2 so it got stuck in the atmosphere

Question 67

How long will it usually take for volcanic greenhouse conditions to return to background conditions?

Answer 67

100 Ka to 1 Ma after volcanism ceases

Question 68

How long did the Triassic super-greenhouse conditions persist for?

Answer 68

~5 million years

Question 69

What do earth system models predict was the reason for such a long persistence of green house conditions post PTME/ Siberian traps?

Answer 69

catastrophic loss of global terrestrial biomass and vegetation so no sequestration of CO2

Question 70

What are the direct products of volcanism from the Siberian traps?

Answer 70

CO2, SO2, Cl, F, NOx emissions Toxic metal emissions Thermogenic gas emissions

Question 71

What is the kill mechanism from SO2 emissions from the Siberian traps?

Answer 71

Volcanic darkness, cooling and photosynthetic shutdown Acid rain

Question 72

What are the Kill mechanisms from Cl, F and NOx emissions from the Siberian traps?

Answer 72

Acid rain Ozone depletion and increased UVB

Question 73

What is the kill mechanism from the Siberian trap increase in co2 emissions?

Answer 73

Global warming (leading to ocean anoxia) Ocean acidification

Question 74

What is the kill mechanism for thermogenic gases?

Answer 74

Ocean acidification

Question 75

What are the 2 most accepted theories for the extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the cretaceous?

Answer 75

Volcanic activity Impact of an asteroid or comet

Question 76

What did Lyell say about the past?

Answer 76

present is the key to the past, the past is a key to the future

Question 77

What are some calling the 6th mass extinction?

Answer 77

anthropogenic mass extinction

Question 78

How far back do anthropogenic extinctions go back?

Answer 78

12,000 years to the end of the last ice age

Question 79

What is the anthropogenic=/ age extinction rate like?

Answer 79

exceptionally fast rate

Question 80

What are the causes of the exceptionally fast extinction rate of the anthropogenic age?

Answer 80

Hunting Habitat loss Climate change Pollution

Question 81

What is a way present day extinction risk is monitored and measured?

Answer 81

IUCN red list

Question 82

What does IUCN stand for?

Answer 82

International Union for the Conservation of Nature

Question 83

How many species are threatened by extinction on IUCN red list?

Answer 83

37,400