During mass extinctions themselves, there is a massive loss of biodiversity. Why

Question

During mass extinctions themselves, there is a massive loss of biodiversity. Why might this mean that the early part of the post-extinction recovery period period would continue to see ecological turmoil? Suggest some of the factors that might cause this. During mass extinctions themselves, there is a massive loss of biodiversity. Why might this mean that the early part of the post-extinction recovery period period would continue to see ecological turmoil? Suggest some of the factors that might cause this.

Explanation / Answer

The effects of a mass extinction event are felt even after the termination of the event. Adaptive capabilities of organisms are tested when the climate shifts from the usual pre-extinction state to an unusual post-extinction state. Massive amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide gas once released into the atmosphere resides there for years. The residence time of such greenhouse gases allows them to warm the planet to a great extent. During the During Late Permian period, the emissions were triggered by Arctic lava flows which caused widespread warming. The change in climate continued to take place as the concentration of gases emitted from deep within the ground was massive enough for them to stay in the atmosphere for millions of years. This had great impacts on oceanic chemistry, sea level, atmospheric temperature and precipitation patterns. Generally, organisms found it difficult to adapt to the new conditions and took a long time to recover from the Great Permian-Triassic Event. Marine life, in particular, would face extreme difficulties in such a period of change after the occurrence of an extinction event as the twins of global warming, i.e ocean acidification, and oceanic oxygen loss would continue to impact the food chain in oceans. Rivers and polar ice caps also would respond to changes in the atmosphere by a heavy discharge of water into the oceans, causing a rise in sea level. Thus, the impact of extinction events is felt through natural changes in the atmosphere that is amplified by oceans, land and sea ice.

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