Collaborative Research: Testing the reduction of aerobic habitat as a common kill mechanism for major mass extinction events

该项目将以地质记录中的三次大灭绝事件为研究系统，研究海洋动物生态系统对环境变化的响应。具体地说，该项目将测试一种假设，即在这些事件中，很大一部分物种灭绝可以用温度升高和氧气供应减少对动物呼吸造成的压力来解释。地球化学数据将被用来约束计算机模拟在这些大规模灭绝事件期间不断变化的海洋条件。然后，对动物呼吸的实验室研究结果将与化石数据配对，以评估空间和不同分类组之间灭绝强度的差异是否可以通过环境变化的空间差异或分类组之间承受环境变化的能力差异来解释。该项目将为一批研究生和博士后提供跨学科培训。它将通过创建一个网站进一步影响STEM教育，该网站将允许访问模型结果，以便学生能够可视化并探索模型输出，以了解大陆形态、海洋状况和生物多样性之间的因果关系。研究人员还将在主要会议上提供关于地球系统建模和数据解释的短期课程，这些课程将被录制以供异步使用。该项目还将开发一个播客系列，讲述我们如何重建古代地球系统，并使用这些重建来更好地了解现在和预测未来。在这个项目中，将检验这一假说，即气候变化和海洋去氧作用下由于有氧呼吸受到限制而造成的栖息地丧失可以解释晚泥盆世(Frasnian-Fammenian)、二叠纪末和三叠纪末大灭绝事件的规模、分类选择性和强度的纬度变化。每一次重大事件前后的全球平均和局部条件都将使用古氧化还原和古气候的替代数据和成岩蚀变的地球化学指标，结合地球系统模型的预测和海洋动物化石记录中的发生数据，将可以由生理压力解释的灭绝方面与需要其他解释的方面分开。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project will study the response of marine animal ecosystems to environmental change using three mass extinction events from the geological record as study systems. Specifically, the project will test the hypothesis that a large proportion of extinction during these events can be explained by the stresses that elevated temperatures and reduced oxygen availability place on animal respiration. Geochemical data will be used to constrain computer simulations of changing ocean conditions during these mass extinction events. Results from laboratory studies on animal respiration will then be paired with fossil data to assess whether differences in extinction intensity in space and across taxonomic groups can be explained by spatial variation in environmental change or differences among taxonomic groups in their ability to withstand environmental change. The project will provide interdisciplinary training to a group of graduate students and post-docs. It will further impact STEM education through the creation of a website that will allow access to model results so that students can visualize and explore model output to understand cause-effect relationships between continental configuration, ocean conditions, and biological diversity. The investigators will also offer short-courses on Earth system modeling and data interpretation at major conferences that will be recorded for asynchronous use. The project will also involve the development of a podcast series addressing how we reconstruct the ancient Earth system and use these reconstructions to better understand the present and predict the future.In this project, the hypothesis will be tested that the loss of habitat through constraints on aerobic respiration under climate change and ocean deoxygenation can explain the magnitude, taxonomic selectivity, and latitude variation in intensity for the Late Devonian (Frasnian-Fammenian), end-Permian, and end-Triassic mass extinction events. Paleoredox and paleoclimate proxy data and geochemical indicators of diagenetic alteration will be used for both global average and local conditions before and after each major event combined with predictions from Earth system models and occurrence data from the fossil record of marine animals to separate aspects of extinction than can be explained by physiological stress from those that require other explanations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.