Even during one of the largest mass extinction events on earth, where heat waves kill most of the earth’s species, there was at least one survival oasis.
The results suggest that there may have been protection focuses throughout the earth, challenging the notion that heat affected life on the planet uniformly, according to a paper in Scientific advances.
Living through “The Great Die”
About 250 million years ago, a series of massive volcanic eruptions warmed the earth. This period, sometimes called “The Great Die”He was rightly appointed. He killed about 95 percent of marine species and 75 percent of life forms without coastlines, although Some species It seemed intelligent enough to find ways to overcome heat.
The researchers found a large number of vegetable fossils that date back to that time in the Turpan-Hami basin of China. The involvement? Although the region was relatively close to some volcanic activity, somehow protected a wide variety of plants.
Read more: The extinction of the Permian: life on earth almost disappeared during the ‘great die’
Protection bags
“This suggests that the local climate and geographical factors can create surprising sources of resilience, offering hope for conservation efforts against global environment Press release.
The fossils that the team found indicated a very diverse plant community that survived the initial destructive events. These fossils indicate both the resilience that allowed them to recover from volcanic events, as well as the evolutionary capacity they needed to adapt later.
The team’s findings suggest that some land areas were protected from the worst effects of extinction, creating sources of resilience that played a crucial role in the rebound of life on earth. The researchers cited the stable and semi-humid climate of the region as essential for the ability of the area to continually support life. The scientists analyzed layers of soil in the area and determined that he received a quite consistent rain during the mass extinction period.
Local vs. Global
The findings challenge a prevailing theory on the Mass Extinction event. That theory states that volcanic eruptions in Siberia triggered forest fires, acid rain and toxic gases, which indiscriminately killed much of life on earth. The opposite vision argues that these events differ throughout the world, due to differences in the atmosphere, latitude and perhaps geography.
The new findings incline the scale to the “variable effects” side. The evidence includes fossil records of ferns of ferns and coniferous forests that existed 160,000 years before extinction and persisted 160,000 years after it ended. Fossils include intact tree trunks and lung stems, which give credit to the notion that it was local vegetation, not transported by wind or other elements.
Life finds a path
The scientists detected some extinction in the area during that period of time, but at 21 percent it was much lower than much of the rest of the planet. Because the oasis of the plant persisted, he presented a welcome place for animals to prosper after the event ended. The team found some fossils of animals dating from about 75,000 years after extinction.
The discovery of this “oasis of life” shows incredible resilience and suggests that, with the right conditions, plants and animals can persist after great disasters.
Read more: Ancient frogs survived the greatest mass extinction event on Earth by not adapting
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Before joining Discover, Paul Smaglik spent more than 20 years as a scientific journalist, specializing in the United States Life Science Policy and global scientific career problems. He began his career in newspapers, but changed to scientific journals. His work has appeared in publications that include scientists, sciences, nature and American scientific.
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