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Paleoecological Response of Corals to the End-Triassic Mass Extinction: An Integrational Analysis

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Abstract

The end-Triassic (also Triassic-Jurassic) mass extinction severely affected life on planet Earth 200 million years ago. Paleoclimate change triggered by the volcanic eruptions of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) caused a great loss of marine biodiversity, among which 96% coral genera were get lost. However, there is precious little detail on the paleoecology and growth forms lost between the latest Triassic extinction and the Early Jurassic recovery. Here a new pilot study was conducted by analyzing corallite integration levels among corals from the latest Triassic and Early Jurassic times. Integration levels in corals from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic were determined through both the Paleobiology Database as well as from a comprehensive museum collection of fossil corals. Results suggest that in addition to a major loss of diversity following the end-Triassic mass extinction, there also was a significant loss of highly integrated corals as clearly evidenced by the coral data from the Early Jurassic. This confirms our hypothesis of paleoecological selectivity for corals following the end-Triassic mass extinction. This study highlights the importance of assigning simple to advanced paleoecological characters with integration levels, which opens a useful approach to understanding of mass extinction and the dynamics of the recovery.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge Dr. Ewa Roniewicz who supplied valuable information on the corals. We also wish to acknowledge Mrs. Kallie Moore, collections manager at the University of Montana Paleontology Center, and Dr. Montana S. Hodges for their help with specimens and information on those specimens. Lastly, one of us (Robinson) wishes to acknowledge Mr. Rob Jensen of Hellgate High School, Missoula, for providing a platform where high school students can be given an opportunity to conduct scientific research. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-018-0793-5..

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  1. University of Montana Paleontology Center, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA

    George D. Stanley Jr, Hannah M. E. Shepherd & Autumn J. Robinson

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  1. George D. Stanley Jr
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Correspondence to George D. Stanley Jr.

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Stanley, G.D., Shepherd, H.M.E. & Robinson, A.J. Paleoecological Response of Corals to the End-Triassic Mass Extinction: An Integrational Analysis. J. Earth Sci. 29, 879–885 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-018-0793-5

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