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Mid Pleistocene foraminiferal mass extinction coupled with phytoplankton evolution

Kender, S.; McClymont, E.L.; Elmore, A.C.; Emanuel, D.; Leng, M.J.; Elderfield, H.

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Authors

S. Kender

A.C. Elmore

D. Emanuel

M.J. Leng

H. Elderfield



Abstract

Understanding the interaction between climate and biotic evolution is crucial for deciphering the sensitivity of life. An enigmatic global mass extinction occurred in the deep oceans during the Mid Pleistocene, with a loss of over 100 species (20%) of sea floor calcareous foraminifera. An evolutionarily conservative group, benthic foraminifera often comprise >50% of benthic eukaryote biomass on the deep ocean floor. Here, we test extinction hypotheses (temperature, corrosiveness, productivity) in the Tasman Sea, using geochemistry and micropalaeontology, and find evidence from several globally distributed sites for a change in phytoplankton food source as the extinction cause. Coccolithophore evolution may have enhanced the seasonal ‘bloom’ nature of primary productivity and fundamentally shifted it towards a more intra-annually variable state at ~0.8 Ma. Our results highlight seasonality as a potential new consideration for Mid-Pleistocene global biogeochemical climate models, and imply that deep sea biota may be sensitive to future changes in productivity.

Citation

Kender, S., McClymont, E., Elmore, A., Emanuel, D., Leng, M., & Elderfield, H. (2016). Mid Pleistocene foraminiferal mass extinction coupled with phytoplankton evolution. Nature Communications, 7, Article 11970. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11970

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 4, 2016
Online Publication Date Jun 17, 2016
Publication Date Jun 17, 2016
Deposit Date May 5, 2016
Publicly Available Date May 6, 2016
Journal Nature Communications
Publisher Nature Research
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 7
Article Number 11970
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11970

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