Extinction is forever—and ecosystem recovery takes a really, really long time
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 09:00
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Researchers from the University of Leeds studying fossil data surrounding the Permo-Triassic (P-Tr) extinction of 252 million years (Ma) ago found that a marine ecosystem, in comparison with the taxonomic genera that comprise it, took a whole order of magnitude longer to recover after the mass extinction event that defines and separates the two geologic periods. The extinction event was responsible for killing upwards of 90% of all marine animals. These findings, presented in a recent Science Advances article, are especially sobering in light of the ongoing Anthropocene Extinction and the conclusions from the most recent IPCC report.