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Possible patterns of marine primary productivity during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event

Pohl, Alexandre ; Harper, David A.T. LU ; Donnadieu, Yannick ; Le Hir, Guillaume ; Nardin, Elise and Servais, Thomas (2018) In Lethaia 51(2). p.187-197
Abstract

Following the appearance of numerous animal phyla during the 'Cambrian Explosion', the 'Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event' (GOBE) records their rapid diversification at the lower taxonomic levels, constituting the most significant rise in biodiversity in Earth's history. Recent studies suggest that the rapid rise in phytoplankton diversity observed at the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary may have profoundly restructured marine trophic chains, paving the way for the subsequent flourishing of plankton-feeding groups during the Ordovician. Unfortunately, the fossil record of plankton is incomplete. Its smaller members represent the bulk of the modern marine biomass, but they are usually not documented in Palaeozoic sediments,... (More)

Following the appearance of numerous animal phyla during the 'Cambrian Explosion', the 'Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event' (GOBE) records their rapid diversification at the lower taxonomic levels, constituting the most significant rise in biodiversity in Earth's history. Recent studies suggest that the rapid rise in phytoplankton diversity observed at the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary may have profoundly restructured marine trophic chains, paving the way for the subsequent flourishing of plankton-feeding groups during the Ordovician. Unfortunately, the fossil record of plankton is incomplete. Its smaller members represent the bulk of the modern marine biomass, but they are usually not documented in Palaeozoic sediments, preventing any definitive assumption with regard to an eventual correlation between biodiversity and biomass at that time. Here, we use an up-to-date ocean general circulation model with biogeochemical capabilities (MITgcm) to simulate the spatial patterns of marine primary productivity throughout the Ordovician, and we compare the model output with available palaeontological and sedimentological data.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
GOBE, Climate modelling, Ordovician, Palaeoceanography, Primary productivity
in
Lethaia
volume
51
issue
2
pages
187 - 197
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85031092292
ISSN
0024-1164
DOI
10.1111/let.12247
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ccecd449-e903-4770-865d-4bbb1eb77c27
date added to LUP
2017-10-30 09:41:57
date last changed
2022-03-17 01:58:53
@article{ccecd449-e903-4770-865d-4bbb1eb77c27,
  abstract     = {{<p>Following the appearance of numerous animal phyla during the 'Cambrian Explosion', the 'Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event' (GOBE) records their rapid diversification at the lower taxonomic levels, constituting the most significant rise in biodiversity in Earth's history. Recent studies suggest that the rapid rise in phytoplankton diversity observed at the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary may have profoundly restructured marine trophic chains, paving the way for the subsequent flourishing of plankton-feeding groups during the Ordovician. Unfortunately, the fossil record of plankton is incomplete. Its smaller members represent the bulk of the modern marine biomass, but they are usually not documented in Palaeozoic sediments, preventing any definitive assumption with regard to an eventual correlation between biodiversity and biomass at that time. Here, we use an up-to-date ocean general circulation model with biogeochemical capabilities (MITgcm) to simulate the spatial patterns of marine primary productivity throughout the Ordovician, and we compare the model output with available palaeontological and sedimentological data.</p>}},
  author       = {{Pohl, Alexandre and Harper, David A.T. and Donnadieu, Yannick and Le Hir, Guillaume and Nardin, Elise and Servais, Thomas}},
  issn         = {{0024-1164}},
  keywords     = {{GOBE; Climate modelling; Ordovician; Palaeoceanography; Primary productivity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{187--197}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Lethaia}},
  title        = {{Possible patterns of marine primary productivity during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/let.12247}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/let.12247}},
  volume       = {{51}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}