Thermal and Nutrient Stress Drove Permian-Triassic Marine Extinctions

Abstract

The Permian-Triassic mass extinction coincides with extensive environmental changes (i.e., thermal stress, deoxygenation and potentially ocean acidification), but the primary drivers of extinction in them marine realm are currently unknown. To understand which factors caused extinctions, we quantitatively investigated the relationship between geochemical proxies and fossil record at the most intensively-studied locality for this event, the Meishan section, China. We found that {delta}18Oapatite (paleotemperature proxy) and {delta}114Cd (primary productivity proxy) best explain changes in species diversity and composition at Meishans paleoequatorial setting. These findings suggest that the physiological stresses induced by ocean warming and nutrient availability played a predominant role in driving equatorial marine extinctions during the Permian-Triassic event. This research enhances our understanding of the interplay between environmental changes and extinction dynamics during a past climate crisis. One-Sentence SummaryOcean warming and nutrient availability were key drivers of equatorial marine extinctions during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction.