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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Geology

Selected Works

Extinction

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Using Marine Snails To Teach Biogeography And Macroevolution: The Role Of Larvae And Dispersal Ability In The Evolution And Persistence Of Species, Jonathan R. Hendricks Apr 2012

Using Marine Snails To Teach Biogeography And Macroevolution: The Role Of Larvae And Dispersal Ability In The Evolution And Persistence Of Species, Jonathan R. Hendricks

Jonathan R. Hendricks

While some marine animals are capable of traveling great distances, many have limited mobility as adults and spend the majority of their lifetimes in a small geographical area or may even be cemented to a single place. While it might be expected that species with limited mobility would have small geographic distributions, some nevertheless occur over very large areas. This is the case for some marine snails (gastropods). A key factor that impacts the geographic distribution of marine snails is the type of larvae they have during the phase of their life history that follows hatching from an egg. Because …


Late Quaternary Distribution And Biogeography Of The Southern Lake Eyre Basin (Sleb) Megafauna, South Australia, Steve Webb Aug 2010

Late Quaternary Distribution And Biogeography Of The Southern Lake Eyre Basin (Sleb) Megafauna, South Australia, Steve Webb

Steve Webb

Understanding the population demography, species distribution and biogeography of Australia’s megafauna is essential for understanding their extinction. This process is only just beginning, and this article discusses these aspects while concentrating on a particular region; the southern Lake Eyre Basin (SLEB). It is also the first detailed description of the distribution of megafauna across that region of central Australia. The data are based on an extensive longitudinal study of 41 palaeontological sites spread across 250 000km2. Megafauna adaptation and response to extensive environmental change during the late Quaternary is reflected in the composition and distribution of 21 megafauna species found …


Late Quaternary Distribution And Biogeography Of The Southern Lake Eyre Basin (Sleb) Megafauna, South Australia, Steve Webb May 2009

Late Quaternary Distribution And Biogeography Of The Southern Lake Eyre Basin (Sleb) Megafauna, South Australia, Steve Webb

Steve Webb

Understanding the population demography, species distribution and biogeography of Australia’s megafauna is essential for understanding their extinction. This process is only just beginning, and this article discusses these aspects while concentrating on a particular region; the southern Lake Eyre Basin (SLEB). It is also the first detailed description of the distribution of megafauna across that region of central Australia. The data are based on an extensive longitudinal study of 41 palaeontological sites spread across 250 000km2. Megafauna adaptation and response to extensive environmental change during the late Quaternary is reflected in the composition and distribution of 21 megafauna species found …


Biogeography Of The Late Paleocene Benthic Foraminiferal Extinction, Ellen Thomas Dec 1997

Biogeography Of The Late Paleocene Benthic Foraminiferal Extinction, Ellen Thomas

Ellen Thomas

During the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum (LPTM) benthic foraminifera at middle bathyal and greater depths suffered extinction of 30-50% of species during a few thousand years. Extinction was less severe at neritic to upper bathyal depths, where temporary changes in faunal composition prevailed. Pre-extinction deep-sea faunas were cosmopolitan and diverse, and contained heavily calcified species. Immediate post-extinction faunas were more variable geographically, exhibited low diversity, and were dominated by thin-walled calcareous or agglutinated taxa, possibly because CaCO3 dissolution increased globally from neritic to abyssal depths just before the extinction. These assemblages were dominated either by long-lived taxa such as Nuttallides …