How Thousands of Species Died Through Massive Extinction 550 Million Years Ago

Over millions of years, the earth has succumbed to the extinction of thousands of different species, as noted by SciTechDaily.

While the earth has been moving towards another mass extinction, as noted by Live Science last August 2022, SciTechDaily mentioned that through researchers from UCR and Virginia Tech, the world now knows that there was a massive extinction that took place around 550 million years ago.

Massive Extinction Took Place 550 Million Years Ago

This extinction is reportedly similar to the disappearance of dinosaurs 66 million years before and of other earth creatures 252 million years before, between the Permian and Triassic times.

While this event is already known, geobiologists from Virginia Tech wanted to study the cause of this first known massive extinction event. Their findings were later on published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

(Photo : Pixabay / Laurentarroues)

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What Caused Massive Extinction During the Ediacaran Period?

The researchers held that the loss of around 80% of Ediacaran species, the first multiple-celled and complex life forms on earth, can be attributed to changes in environmental conditions.

As noted by SciTechDaily, one of the study's authors, UCR paleoecologist Chenyi Tu, mentioned that according to geological data, oceans were oxygen-depleted during that period. Tu also stated that only a few species could survive and that these species had bodies capable of adapting to conditions where oxygen levels were significantly lower.

This event was harder to record because the extinct creatures had softer bodies and did not fossilize well.

Rachel Suprenant, a UCR paleoecologist and one of the study's authors, mentioned that the team had suspicions about the event. However, they needed substantial and massive evidence to prove it.

As they proceeded with the study, the team noted what was known about the Ediacaran creature's body size, movement, behaviors, food intake, and environment.

Through this endeavor, the team of researchers wanted to test the assumptions that the vast loss of animal life during the latter part of the Ediacaran times was not because of extinction.

Chenyi mentioned that they were able to study the distribution of animals over space and over time. Thus, they knew that these animals did not just migrate elsewhere or get preyed on by others; they knew that such animals died out. The team was, thus, able to see a real-life decrease in the plethora of species.

The team also monitored the surface area-to-volume ratios of the creatures. This specific measurement shows how depleted oxygen could have led to their extinction.

Heather McCandless, another UCR paleoecologist and co-author of the study, shared that when an organism has a higher volume ratio, it can get higher nutrient levels. McCandless further states that those who could reach the succeeding era had bodies that adapted in this manner.

While the reason behind oxygen depletion during this time is not clear, these findings show that changes in environmental conditions can crash stability and destroy different lives at any point in time, as noted by SciTechDaily. This has led to various instances of massive extinctions, including the event roughly 550 million years ago.